


Supercunt

by 4uckedinthehead



Series: Porn Multiverse [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Cunnilingus, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, M/M, Multi, Oral Sex, Other, Porn With Plot, Shower Sex, Temperature Play, The Author Regrets Nothing, Unbeta'd, all females are subs, author appeal fetish fuel, dubcon, everybody fucks Kara, lightly proofread, onyl slightly less fucked up than my otehr arrowverse story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2020-10-07 00:22:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20515955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4uckedinthehead/pseuds/4uckedinthehead
Summary: When Krypton explodes, Kara Zor-El's ship is sent careening into the Phantom Zone. When she escapes twenty-four years later, Kara can only begin to comprehend how far she was sent from home.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is rude, I know, but I'm not a good person and this is not a nice story.

“Honey there's something we wanted to talk to you about,” Eliza says at dinner. “You’re going to be getting a sister.”

“You’re pregnant?” Alex asks, face lighting up in excitement.

“No, your mother isn’t having a baby,” Jeremiah says. “We’re adopting a little girl. But it’s not because of anything you did or didn’t do,” Jeremiah assures her. “You know how we work with Superman sometimes?” Alex nods. Her parents are famous for it. “The thing is… it turns out he’s not the only person who survived Krypton. He has a cousin.”

“Superman has a cousin?” Alex asks, wide-eyed.

Eliza nods. “The daughter of his father’s brother. She just arrived on Earth and is going to be living with us. She’s only a little younger than you.”

“When is she coming?”

“Tomorrow,” Eliza replies. “Which brings us to the reason we needed to talk to you. Women were treated very differently on Krypton, mainly in that women only had sex with people they knew very well and never with family members.”

“Is there something you want me to do?”

“Yes. If the government discovers that she’s a Kryptonian, they’ll try to take her powers away and if they can’t do that, they’ll kill her. So, she needs someone to train her how to be human.”

“Won’t she have super strength and stuff like that? How am I supposed to train her when she’s like a million times stronger than me?”

“We’ll make sure she knows that she’s not to use her powers under any circumstances. Plus, Superman’s gonna be giving us a little bit of Kryptonite, just in case.”

“We know it won’t be easy, sweetie, but you have to do it,” her mother cooed. “Superman is counting on us; you don’t want to let him down, do you?”

Alex scowls. That is a low blow. One does not disappoint Superman. She stomps upstairs and flops down on her bed. She just hopes this new girl isn’t ugly.

* * *

“Things are different here on Earth. People interact differently, especially women. It’s going to be hard for you but you have to promise me you will do what Jeremiah and Eliza say, no matter how strange. Ok?”

Kara nods and Kal stands up and leads her to the two humans that are going to take care of her. Introductions are made quickly and Kal leaves.

“Well, why don’t we all get inside and we can get to know one another. How much did your cousin tell you?”

“Just that things were different here, but he didn’t say how.”

“Well, I suppose that’s understandable." They enter the house and the Danvers give her the tour.

“And this will be your bedroom,” Jeremiah says when they come to a door at the end of the upstairs hall.

“Alex, this is Superman’s cousin, Kara. She just arrived here on Earth, so she’s going to be sharing your bedroom so you can teach her how to act like a human. Now Kara, this is where things are going to start getting a little uncomfortable for you. Women on this planet, their roles are a little different than on Krypton. There’s no easy way to put this, so I’m just going to say it. You and Alex are going to have sex.”

“What?” Kara exclaims. “But she’s a girl!”

“She is,” Jeremiah agrees. “Kara, Superman asked us to take care of you and part of that is teaching her how to blend in. Human women aren’t slaves, but they are submissive to men here and are expected to have sex with anyone who asks. Women are allowed to refuse, but it is rude to do so without a good reason and would draw attention to you if you did it a lot. So, Kara, Alex, in addition to being sisters, you two are going to be girlfriends. That means you’ll sleep in the same bed, have sex and bathe together. Understood?”

Alex is quiet, wearing a mulish expression, but now it changes to one of anger. “Hold on Dad, you never said anything about having to date her!”

“Sorry Alex, but your mother and I were talking about it and we’ve determined the best way to acclimate Kara to her situation.”

Alex still looks annoyed but nods, but Kara looks angry. “I want to talk to Kal.”

“We can call him first thing in the morning, but I promise you he’s going to tell you the same things I did. Now, we can go shopping for clothes and other things this weekend, but you two will have to make do until then. I’ll leave you two alone to talk, but I want to see you kissing by bed.”

Jeremiah closes the door behind himself. Alex leans back on her arms, sitting on her bed, Kara looking around nervously.

“Does your dad really expect us to…”

“Didn’t you have sex with your friends on Krypton?” Alex asks, eyebrows arching.

“No, never,” Kara gasps, blushing. “Am I really expected to have sex with anyone who asks? Even strangers?”

“Not for a while, really. We’re still kids and in school and we’re expected to graduate so the only boys supposed to have sex with us without explicit permission will be our boyfriends, so its mostly just oral and some lesbian stuff. Blowing the guy sitting next to you on the bus, making out with a friend, or some dude’s hot girlfriend. And even after that, it’ll be coworkers or bosses, mostly, sometimes the guy standing behind you on the subway, but it’s not like some dude’s gonna yank you into an alley and fuck you against the wall. Well, actually, it is possible, but most guys aren’t like that.”

“And what if he… you know… does it… inside?” Kara asks, staring at the floor, face as red as a tomato.

“Then maybe you get pregnant,” Alex says with a shrug. “I don’t know what that kind of thing was like on Krypton, but it’s not a big deal here. And even then, it’s considered extremely rude to come in you without a heads-up.”

“So that’s it, if a guy wants to… have sex with you, there’s nothing you can do?”

“Well… You are allowed to say no if you really don’t like the guy and he can get in trouble if he has sex with you anyways.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Fines usually. There was a senior that had to move to another school last year because he wouldn’t stop fucking freshmen though.”

“You mean he raped girls and they just made him move to another school?”

“Rape? What’s that?”

“You know, when a guy has… sex with you when you don’t want it?”

“You mean non-consensual sex?” Alex asked with a frown. “Around here, just because you say no doesn’t mean he can’t have sex with you.”

“So what’s the point then?”

“While you can’t stop a guy from having noncon with you, he’s not allowed to keep you from making a sextape. If you go to the cops with evidence of a dude having noncon with you repeatedly, you can get a restraining order.”

“I don’t think I like this planet,” Kara says as she sits down on the bed, feeling sick.

“It’s really not as bad as it sounds. Most guys aren’t assholes, if you say you don’t want to have sex they’ll find someone who does and say when they’re about to come so you can swallow. And if he does knock you up, he does have to help out if you don’t give it up for adoption.”

“That doesn’t really sound much better.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Alex says sitting on the bed, close enough that their thighs touch. “You have some serious DSLs though, so most guys will probably go for your mouth first anyways.”

“I’m sure I’m gonna regret asking this, but what’s a DSL?”

“Dick Sucking Lips," Alex answers, reaching to trace them.

Kara looks over at the unexpected touching and their eyes meet. Alex can see the churn of Kara’s emotions reflected in the blue of the blonde’s eyes. Her blonde’s eyes, Alex realize, what with how her parents had decreed they were to be girlfriends as well as sisters.

Alex leans in, tilting her head a bit, and presses her lips to Kara’s. The Kryptonian’s lips remain resolutely sealed though, even when Alex wets them with her tongue.

Alex disengages, eyes going to Kara’s again, searching for some change in the chaotic swirl of emotions they contain.

“Kara,” Alex begins, picking her words carefully. “I don’t like this anymore than you do. But Superman brought you here so you could learn how to be human. And that means bringing you out of your comfort zone.”

That brings a crinkle to Kara’s brow and a more thoughtful look to her eyes before she turns them to the floor. “It’s just everything is so different here.”

Alex takes Kara’s chin gently between her thumb and forefinger and turns her to look at her. The words disappear when she sees the sadness and tears welling in Kara’s eyes, so Alex kisses her again, more gently this time.

Kara twists her head, breaking the kiss after just a moment. “You humans are despicable. I’m still grieving for Krypton and you just want to have sex with me.”

“Yeah, a little bit,” Alex replies without a bit of embarrassment. “Frankly, im just glad you don’t have warts. What?” Alex asks at Kara’s glare. “You want me to lie to you?”

Kara really isn’t sure; the truth seemed to be just as ugly as any lie Alex could tell. “I’m tired. I want to go to bed.”

“Sex can wait; we don’t have to fuck tonight. All I want right now is for you to stop being sad. Someone as pretty as you should be happy.” Alex reaches up to wipe the unshed tears away. Kara blushes and diverts her gaze again, confusing Alex for a moment until she realizes she’d called Kara pretty.

And she is, despite her tears. While Alex kisses her friends all the time, it is mostly because that’s just what girls did. When she sits down with her friends at the lunch table, she takes a moment to pull Angelica’s head back and give her a peck on the lips hello, or turns to meet Isabella’s lips when she breaks from her conversation for a moment to greet her. But she’s never seen Rachel or Alice or Elise and thought ‘she’s so beautiful,’ or ‘I really want to kiss her.’ 

But she is surprised to find that she wants to kiss Kara more, really kiss her, with tongue and everything.

It is late, so Alex gets up and starts getting undressed.

“Alex! What are you doing?” Kara exclaims, hiding her face.

“You said you wanted to go to bed. Let me guess, you don’t sleep naked on Krypton?”

Kara shakes her head wordlessly, still hiding her face.

“Well, I can find something for us to wear to bed, but you have to do one thing.”

“What?”

“Let me kiss you properly, open mouth, with tongue, fifteen seconds.”

“Fine,” Kara agrees after several long seconds.

Alex grins. She had been expecting to hate the alien girl who has crashed into her life, but instead, she's found someone she is already a tiny bit in lust with.

She pushes Kara down, kneeling over on all fours on the bed once they are both covered.

She smirks when Kara starts blushing as she just stares at her for a few seconds.

“So are you gonna kiss me or just stare at me?”

“Sorry. I was just thinking that you are really quite beautiful.”

Kara blushes harder at that and opens her mouth to say something, but Alex swoops in and seals her lips to Kara’s.

She is pleased to note that Kara doesn't pull away when her bargained fifteen seconds are up. In fact, Kara doesn't pull away at all. Her face has gone completely red, the excess blood extending down her neck.

“I guess you’ve never been kissed like that before?”

Kara just shakes her head wordlessly, panting, eyes round as saucers. “Well, we have to be at school early to get you registered, so we should get some sleep.

She debates with herself the merits of asking her parents for a bigger bed, because her (their) current one is small enough that when Alex rolls onto her side, back to the wall and holds up the covers, Kara doesn't have any choice but to wriggle into Alex’s arms.

Alex is sorely tempted to nibble on Kara’s ear, or squeeze a breast with the hand that is just an inch away, but she doesn't want to, can't afford to make Kara any more skittish than she already is. So instead, she settles for holding the younger girl, resting her head in the curve of her neck.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex is extremely glad for once that her body’s internal clock is as overactive as it is because it means she gets to watch Kara sleep in her arms for a whole ten minutes before her alarm wakes her up.

Alex also notes with some irritation that Kara is still probably one of the prettiest girls she’s ever seen, eyes crusted with sleepies and hair a tangled mess.

(She also makes a mental note that they have to find some alternative sleeping arrangement; she’d woken up several times with her mouth full of the Kryptonian’s golden locks.)

“Good morning beautiful,” Alex murmurs as Kara rouses, sliding out from under her in order to kiss her good morning.

“Stop kissing me,” Kara growls, pushing Alex off her with irresistible strength.

“Yeah, that’s not happening anytime soon, babe.”

“And don’t call me babe,” Kara adds, getting out of the bed.

“That’s not happening either,” Alex tells her.

Kara shoots the brunette a glare, gathering her clothes and leaving the room.

Alex sighs, following suit. The water is already running in the bathroom, Kara wet under the spray.

“What in Rao’s name are you doing?”

“Girls don’t shower alone when they have girlfriends or sisters,” Alex says, getting into the shower stall.

“You’re not my girlfriend and I’m not your sister,” Kara says, getting angry. “I can’t control where I sleep, I can’t get you to stop groping or kissing me, but I can shower alone.”

Alex doesn't say anything, merely cocking an eyebrow and sliding around Kara to stand under the water.

She sorta understands where Kara was coming from though. She and her parents are pushing her pretty hard. She vaguely wonders how long it would take Kara to snap.

She sees the possibility of violence flash through Kara’s eyes and lets out a mental sigh of relief when Kara only reaches for the water lever. Her eyes widen in alarm when Kara twists it all the way to the hot side and holds it there, keeping Alex from turning it down.

Most of the time, Alex is grateful for the expensive water heater, now, not so much, hurrying out of the stall into the much colder bathroom before the water burns her.

Kara shoots her a smug look as she stands under the otherwise scalding spray without flinching.

Alex sighs. She hoped Kara breaks down sooner rather than later; she really wants to fuck her new sister in the shower.

Cranking the heat to keep her out also means that there s no hot water left for her when Kara was done, so it was with reversed attitudes from the previous night that the girls come down for breakfast.

“Hi girls,” Eliza greets chirpily. “How did you two sleep?”

“Fine,” they reply in unison.

“Something wrong, Alex?” Jeremiah asks when he sits down at the table.

“Kara wouldn’t let me shower with her. She turned the hot water all the way up and used it all.”

Jeremiah exchanges a look with Eliza as she sets the breakfast plates down in front of the girls.

“Kara,” Eliza starts.

“Screw you guys,” Kara snaps without looking up. “This planet is so messed up. Making girls sleep together, fine. Making them kiss, gross but whatever. But I’m not taking a shower at the same time as Alex.”

“Kara, that’s how things are done here. If you want to blend in-”

“Well, guess what?” Kara interrupts. “I don’t want to blend in. But don’t worry, I’m not gonna be here long.”

“Kara, you don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“I have Kal. And if he won’t let me live with him, then I’ll go find my pod and go somewhere else.”

“_Clark_ brought you to live with us for a reason,” Jeremiah says, emphasizing Kal’s human name. “And the pod you came in belongs to the government.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean there have been problems with aliens before, so any alien technology in the US automatically becomes property of the government.”

“So you’re saying the human government stole my pod?”

“I’m saying that the law says the government owns your pod, and if you try to take it back, the consequences will be severe. Listen, you don’t have to go to school today. Just don't do anything and I will call Clark and the two of you can talk about it.”

Kara thinks it over for a moment before reluctantly acquiescing.

“Do I still have to go to school?” Alex asks.

“You can stay home, but you have to spend it with Kara.” Alex smirks. All her amorous goodwill to the blonde alien had evaporated with the shower so she is going to enjoy spending the day alone with her.

* * *

She senses her cousin’s arrival before anyone else, Jeremiah informing her that he is on his way only a minute or so after she hears the sound of his flight.

She quickly changes out of her Earth clothes and back into her white Kryptonian skinsuit.

“Hey Kara,” Kal says as he lands, frowning at her. “Jeremiah said you wanted to talk.”

_“I don’t want to talk,” _ she says in Kryptahniuo. _“I want to leave. Kal, how can you stand to live here? This place is horrible.”_ When her cousin doesn’t immediately respond, she has a single, horrified thought that maybe he doesn’t know Kryptahniuo.

_ “Why don’t we go inside? I think this conversation is gonna take a while.” _

He doesn't wait for her reply, settling an arm around her shoulders and pulling her along with him. She resists being taken back into the house, so they settle on the front porch.

_“I want my pod back,”_ Kara demands when they sit on the steps.

_“That can’t happen,”_ Kal replies in the same tongue. _“I guess I should’ve done this before, but there are some things I need to explain.”_

_“Like why you stayed on this awful planet?”_ Kara asks.

Kal sighs. _“Kara, like it or not, Earth is our home now. How much do you know about Krypton’s relations with the rest of the galaxies?”_

_ “Not much. Father said we kept to ourselves because everyone was afraid of us.” _

_ “Zor-El was right. There was a time when we weren’t so peaceful and… We caused problems. Problems most planets have never forgotten.” _

_ “What does that have to do with Earth?” _

_ “The truth is, Kara, I settled here on Earth because it’s the only place that would let me. Most of space is glad our planet and race died. I was told any Kryptonian that settles on Earth will be left alone. But if I or anyone else tries to leave, or refound Krypton anywhere else, we will be destroyed.” _

Kara frowns. _“So… we’ve been banished?”_

_ “I’m sorry, Kara. Maybe someday we can convince the galactic community to accept us and Krypton can live again, but for now, Earth is our home.” _

_ “I still want my pod back.” _

_ “I’ll see what I can do. But you have to promise me you’ll listen to Eliza and Jeremiah and blend in.” _

_ “They want me to be a whore.” _

A pained expression comes over Superman’s features for the first time in their conversation. _“I know, and I’m sorry little one, but technically speaking, you and I are illegal immigrants according to this country’s laws. Humans area skittish, easily frightened species. And once they become frightened, they can become incredibly violent and dangerous. My agreement with both the local and galactic governments is contingent on keeping knowledge of alien life secret from the humans. And that means blending in.”_

_“You fly around with our House crest on your chest. That’s _not_ blending in,”_ Kara accuses.

Kal-El winces. _“I know. But I can only do that because almost nobody knows Superman and Clark Kent are the same person. My human identity is my most closely guarded secret, like it has to be yours. When I’m not wearing this outfit, I’m the most ordinary human of them all.”_

Kara drops her gaze to the ground in front of her, glaring at it hard enough that a tiny wisp of smoke rises. _“You say that, but you’re not the one who has to have sex with any stranger who asks in order to blend in,”_ Kara mutters.

_“You don’t have to have sex with any stranger-”_ Kal begins, but cuts himself off when Kara shifts her glare to him. _“You’re right, I’m sorry. I know that this is going to be harder for you than it was for me. But-”_

_“I’ll do it,”_ Kara interrupts. _“If what you’ve said is true, I’ll pretend to be human. Let it never be said that a daughter of El shirks her duty.”_ Kara gets to her feet and turns to go inside. Jeremiah and Eliza are sitting at the table, while Alex has been watching from the window in the door. She stalks towards the human girl who is to be her sister and her lover, putting a hand to her throat when she backs up to the wall that separates the staircase from the dining area.

Looking over her shoulder, she sees the two native adults have risen to their feet at the threat to their offspring, but stills at Superman’s outstretched hand, who stands just inside the door. Turning back, she considers Alex for a moment, noting the not-quite-fear in her eyes before mashing their mouths together in a clumsy imitation of the several liplocks Alex has engaged her in. “Everyone happy now?”

The two human adults sit down, Kara taking their lack of response as agreement. Kal comes over though, holding out a piece of paper. “My contact info. I should’ve given this to you yesterday when I dropped you off.” Kal pauses a moment, looking at the humans. He kneels down. _“I really am sorry that you have to do this,” _he says, switching to Kryptahniuo. _“Call me, email me, IM me whenever, day or night. I’ll be there to talk.”_

Giving her a brief hug, he tousles her hair and flies off. “So…” Alex says hesitantly.

“I’ll blend in. With everything that entails,” Kara tells everyone. “

Great,” Alex says, grabbing her hand and pulling her up the stairs to their bedroom, the thought only accompanied by some slight mental squirminess from Kara. “So, the first part of pretending to be human is dressing the part. So take your weird onesie off and let’s see what I got that you’ll look cute in."


	3. Chapter 3

**TWELVE YEARS LATER**

When Alex enters their apartment shortly after five, it is to find Kara standing in front of the full-length mirror in nothing but her skin, a dress in either hand. Alex closes the door behind her, drawing her lower lip between her teeth as she takes in the sight of the curve of the blonde’s bare back, the swell of her deliciously round ass and the taut, toned musculature of her thighs and calves.

“You’re staring,” Kara says when her gaze finally rises to meet Kara’s through the mirror.

“Yep,” Alex agrees, grinning when Kara rolls her eyes.

“You’re such a freaking boy, Alex. You see me naked all the time.”

“I see the sunrise all the time. Doesn’t make it any less amazing.”

Kara turns, one hand on her hip and Alex momentarily forgets how to breathe because damn. Kara. Kara is naked. And, uh. Yeah.

“Sorry, what did you say?” Alex asks when she manages to put her eyes back in her head.

Kara lets out a totally exaggerated sigh and turns back to the mirror. “I was saying, you useless lesbian-”

“Hey, I am not useless,” Alex protests but then Kara turns around again and _whoops_.

Alex manages to pull her eyes up a little quicker this time and scowls when she sees the arch of her sister’s perfect brow. “Care to try that again?”

“Not my fault you’re a freaking goddess, Kara. You could make the dead sit up and take notice.”

“Right. Anyways. Red or blue?” the blonde asks, lifting one dress first, then the other.

“Blue,” Alex replies without thinking. “Blue’s your color. What’s the occasion?”

“Well, since you’re going out of town for your conference, I got a date for tonight.”

“Wouldn’t happen to be with that IT guy from work would it?”

“Winn?” Kara asks, her brow crinkling in confusion. “No, it’s an Internet date. Why would I go out with Winn? He’s gay.”

“I assure you Kara, Winn is not gay. Don’t you see how he looks at you?”

“He doesn’t look at me like anything, Alex. He looks at Brad more than me.”

Now it was Alex’s turn to roll her eyes. “God, you can be so clueless sometimes. I promise you, there’s little more he wants than to get balls deep in this pussy,” Alex assures her, stepping in close to stroke Kara’s lower lips.

“Well, if he wants to fuck me so bad, why hasn’t he said anything?” Kara leans back into the mirror, spreading her knees to give Alex better access. “It’s no secret I’ve fucked most of the office. Brad fucks me at my desk at least every other day. He should know all he has to is to ask.”

“No offense to your friend, but he seems kind of a beta. He’s probably a little intimidated by the most beautiful woman in National City.”

“I’m not-”

“How many guys swiped right on you?” Alex asks, voice getting husky as she slides two fingers into the naked blonde. She smirks when she sees Kara bite back on her answer. “What I thought.”

Alex pumps her hand a few more times, pressing and rolling Kara’s clit with her thumb before she gives Kara a peck on the lips and pulls out. “Hey!” Kara protests.

“Sorry babe, but I still got to pack for my trip,” Alex says, sucking her fingers clean.

“Are you presenting the paper on my synthetic gray matter?” Kara asks, raising her voice so it will carry into the bedroom.

“No. Simulations are still showing rejection at eighteen percent.”

“I’m telling you, the simulations are wrong. The supercomputers at your company can’t handle the calculations. Run it through any of the quantum computers in Geneva and I guarantee the rejection rate will drop to at least three percent.”

“And I don’t see how that’s possible Kara,” Alex half-shouts back. “That’s a bigger discrepancy than dropped remainders can account for.”

“And tell me again, which of us is from an advanced, millennia-old, space-faring civilization and which of us is from a planet who has yet to make official First Contact?”

Alex stands up from folding her clothes to give Kara a direct look. “And what happens when I present your world-changing brain goop and can’t answer questions on how I invented it?”

“Just say it was an accident. Like penicillin. Fine,” Kara says reluctantly when Alex shakes her head, leaning against the door frame. “Then at least tell me you’ll solve nuclear fusion. Your scientists are close enough that you can plausibly claim a breakthrough.”

“Right, because a bioengineer with no background in nuclear science suddenly solving clean energy is plausible.”

Kara lets out an annoyed growl, throwing up her hands. “I don’t get it Alex. I can’t be super, fine, whatever. It’s not like National City has an abundance of supervillains. But there are so many problems we solved on Krypton that Earth still suffers from. I’ve accepted I have to be a normal human. I’ve been a normal human. I got a normal human job. I went to work for Cat Grant because I thought working in a media company run by a powerful woman who actually shapes the way people think would be the way I could make a difference. But instead, I just fetch layouts and coffee and get fucked by people waiting to see Ms. Grant. This is not what my parents sent me to Earth to do.”

“Wanting to change the world for the better is a completely human thing, but we’ve been over why you can’t solve our problems for us.”

“Remind me again how biodegradable materials and plastic-eating bacteria is too upsetting to OPEC?”

“We’re not having this conversation again Kara,” Alex says with a sigh. “I gotta get going or I’ll miss my plane. Text me all the details on your date and I’ll do the same with my conference. Deal?”

“Deal,” Kara agrees, grabbing Alex’s jacket and pulling her in for a real kiss when she tries to brush by with a peck. “Let me know when you get to the airport and when you take off and when you land and-”

“Kara,” Alex interrupts with a grin. “I’ll be perfectly safe. You’re more likely to get struck by lightning than you are to die in a plane crash. It is statistically the safest mode of travel.”

“Nothing that runs on fossil fuels is in the same solar system as safe,” Kara denies with a scowl.

“Well, that’ll have to be something we’ll agree to disagree on. Now I really gotta get going. See you in three days.”

* * *

Kara waffles between wearing underwear and going commando for another fifteen minutes after Alex leaves before deciding on the latter, as she is trying to get laid tonight. She tries to keep her mind on her date but it is difficult when Alex is traveling in what amounted to little more than a tube of tinfoil bolted to a pair of overclocked fans. Powered by what could all-too-easily turn into a bomb.

She gets to the bar where she and her date had agreed to meet a few minutes early so she can ask the bartender to change the channel to the news. She smiles as he talks, nods in the appropriate places, but try as she might, she quickly loses his interest in favor a pretty brunette by the bar.

The awkwardness of the situation is wiped completely from her mind a moment later when the chyron from the news channel proclaims Flight 237 is having engine trouble.

She tries not to break anything in her haste to get to Alex's plane, but as focused as she is on finding Alex's heartbeat, she probably could've flown through a building without noticing.

Locating the plane is easy, the sound of the burning engine alone enough to locate the distressed transport.

She takes a second when she catches up to it to scan the passenger compartment, letting out a microscopic sigh of relief when she finds Alex alarmed but unharmed.

She flies over the wing, tapping on the window to get the brunette’s attention, then sets to figuring out how to bring the plane down without breaking anything more.

Somehow, she manages to tilt the plane up on its wing to squeeze it through the bridge towers and land it in the water on the other side.

She can _hear_ Alex’s heartbeat slow, can _see_ that she was unharmed, yet she can’t stop herself from rushing to the emergency exit, (which popped off way more easily than she expected.) She rushes down the aisle, everything blurring for an instant and Alex is in her arms.

“You are _never_ flying on a plane again,” she growls and it’s not until she hears Alex wheeze and what is probably her ribs creaking that she realizes she may be squeezing her too tightly.

Kara relaxes her grip and resists the urge to kiss Alex within an inch of her life, aware of the other people on the plane, most of who have a phone out now.

She realizes she must be a sight, half-drowned, hair a tangled mess and the skirt of her dress in tatters. Fighting the sudden rush of blood to her face, Kara scoops Alex into a bridal carry and flies out the door she ripped off.

Kara's still high on a heady mix of adrenaline and endorphins when she touches down on the balcony, but her grin quickly melts when Alex beelines for the whiskey on top of the fridge.

“Alex?” Kara asks when the brunette tosses back the two fingers she pours and pours two more.

She can see the tenseness in her body, but encounters a bit of a mental stutter when Alex turns and levels a glare at her. “What were you thinking?” Alex’s voice is quiet but that’s almost worse than if she were shouting.

“What was- I was thinking about saving your life! You were in danger! Your freaking plane was on fire!”

“It was unnecessary. The engine caught fire almost right after takeoff, so we barely broke five thousand feet. We were over water, right outside the city, so emergency services would’ve gotten there before everyone was off. It was as close to a textbook definition of ‘survivable’ as it could get.”

Kara takes a second to process Alex’s words. “I _saved_ you, Alex!”

“And you exposed yourself. You’re out there now Kara. Everyone will know about you and you can’t take that back.”

“I… I don’t want to,” Kara says softly, surprised at the sharpness of her tone. “This is what I was talking about, Alex. I always felt the need to help people and tonight I finally got that chance. I didn’t travel 2000 lightyears just to be a… a… glorified fleshlight!”

“What if people figure out who you are? What you are? It’s not safe for you to do anything like that. Ever again.”

“Oh,” Kara says, crestfallen. “I’m kinda tired. I just carried a plane on my back. I’m gonna go to bed.”

“Not yet, little sister,” Alex says, grabbing her arm. “Kara, look, you know the rules. Women aren’t allowed to have superpowers on this planet. Like it or not, fetching layouts and coffee and sucking dick is all you can be allowed to do. I know it sucks, but you’re a Kryptonian and that means you can’t be anything other than an office slut.”

“How does that make sense?” Kara demands. “I’m one of the two most powerful beings on the planet and yet I’m not allowed to be anything other than a whore.”

“Kara, every woman on the planet has ‘slut’ in her job description. Let me tell you, I spend at least half my day getting bent over my desk and railed from behind while I work. If I have a meeting with a male colleague, half the time it’s on my knees or back. And that conference in Geneva? I probably would have spent most of it having the other attendees taking turns spitroasting me so I don’t want to hear how you spend your day getting fucked. Now while I _do_ appreciate you keeping the plane from crashing, you know the rules when you do anything super. What did Dad say?”

Kara glares. “On Earth, pussy comes before power.”

“Right. When I come back, I want to see you naked and on your knees, ok?”

Kara was looking rather sour when Alex returns with a flesh-colored dildo wagging between her legs. Alex sits on the couch and Kara shuffles around to rest her arms on Alex’s thighs and wrap her lips around the dildo.

“I’m only trying to keep you safe,” Alex said gently, petting Kara’s hair as she bobs between her legs.

“You want to cage me, just like everyone else,” the blonde mutters around the silicone.

Alex sighs and pulls Kara up onto the couch next to her, hugging the blonde. “I know this is hard for you, but I swear I’m just doing what’s best for you. The government hates that it can’t control Superman, but they can’t do anything about him, he’s too well known, too famous. What do you think they’re gonna do to the Kryptonian they can do something about? The female Kryptonian no one would miss?”

“’No one would miss?’ Really Alex?” Kara asks, sitting up to glare at her.

“You know what I mean. Mom and I would miss you and so would your friends at CatCo I’m sure. I’m talking about how almost nobody knows you’re Kryptonian. Breaking the unwritten rules like this just gives the government an excuse to make you disappear. You wouldn’t be the first alien they’d do it to.”

“Kal would come for me.”

“He probably would. He would move heaven and earth to find you. But think about that, think about how the government would react. Do you think they’d just take Superman suddenly digging through their black sites and secret labs trying to free you lying down?”

Kara stands up, pulling away from Alex completely. “I was born to be a superhero. If there’s something bad happening and I can do something, I’m gonna do it. I can’t _not_ do it. Not anymore.”

Alex groans, pressing her head into the back of the couch because if she lets her gaze dip down, she’s done for. (But even in her peripheral vision Kara’s tits are _goddamn amazing_.) “Goddammit, Kara, this isn't a suggestion. You are _not allowed_ to use your powers like that.”

“And why is that exactly? Why can’t I use my powers?” Kara asks, folding her arms under her chest. “There is no law against me using them, helping people. It’s just you and Eliza and Jeremiah always telling me to be anything but myself.”

Alex tries _really, really_ hard not to get distracted by how Kara’s boobs jiggle. “Have you not listened to a word I’ve said? You’re right, there’s no law on the books saying you’re not allowed to be super. But it doesn’t have to be on the books to not be allowed. Putting aside how our own government would love to figure out how you work, what do you think other, less friendly countries would give to be able to get their hands on you, dissect you, sell you for parts? What about the Luthors, human trafficking groups, hell, what about Superman’s enemies?”

“How would a human trafficking group get their hands on me? I’m bulletproof. Bullets literally bounce off me.”

“Are you sure about that? One-hundred percent? Have you ever actually been shot?”

“There’s no reason to think I’m not,” Kara protests.

“Alright, let’s say you’re right then. But just because you’re bulletproof doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to get to you. Do you think there are any lengths Russia or China or Iran wouldn’t go to have a pet Kryptonian?”

“I would never-”

“Not even if they hurt me, or Mom? What about Cat, Winn or anyone else in your life? Because once you go public, really public, there are people that are going to be looking for those kinds of things.”

Kara’s defiance falters for a moment, then her expression hardens again. “Kal has to face these kinds of threats, yet nobody seems to have these concerns about him.”

“Clark Kent isn’t my sister. I don’t particularly like him and I don’t really care if anything happens to him. You, I care very much if anything happens to you.”

Kara's expression softens slightly, shifting from angrily rebellious to irritated concern. “If you really cared for me, you’d be helping me, not trying to badger me into being someone I’m not.”

That makes the anger that had been simmering through their whole fight spike and Alex sits up, giving Kara a real glare. (And for once, her boobs don’t draw her eyes like lodestones.) She opens her mouth to dispute Kara’s words, but they fail her in her anger. She pushes herself to her feet after a moment and marches to Kara, planting a hand in the middle of her chest and pushing her back until she hits the wall.

“Don’t ever think I don’t care for you Kara,” Alex growls and kisses Kara. If the bullheaded blonde won’t listen to her words, then maybe she’ll listen to her body. Kara resists for a moment, but if there’s one thing Alex is good at, it’s getting Kara’s libido going. Alex drops a hand and Kara’s legs part. Alex strokes her lips and Kara’s breath hitches, Alex bites her earlobe and Kara hisses.

Alex nibbles her way down Kara’s neck and when she reaches the collarbone, Kara tangles a hand in her hair, pulling her head back. Alex smirks when she sees the color in Kara’s face, how her irises are just the thinnest rings of blue. “I know what you’re doing.”

“I would be quite annoyed at myself if you didn’t,” Alex replies evenly, gasping when Kara tugs on her hair a bit harder.

“We’re not done talking.”

“I’m sure we’ll both have a few comments for each other in a few minutes. Starting with ‘fuck’ and ending with ‘more.’ Or possibly ‘harder.’ Probably both, actually.”

“Great Rao, you are an irritating little shit,” Kara growls and speeds them to the bed.

Kara is on top of her, one hand over her head banded around her wrists, the other tweaking a nipple while her tongue plunders her mouth. Kara’s hand is going to leave marks and the thought makes her hips arch, rubbing the dildo along Kara’s pussy.

“Grab the bars,” Kara husks, “and don’t let go until I say.”

Alex reaches for the metal bars, grabbing them as tightly as she can (because self-control is not her strong suit) and watches as Kara sits up. Kara grabs the dick and rubs the head along her labia for a few seconds and Alex groans as the base presses down on her clit.

Kara starts rolling her hips and Alex’s mouth goes dry. Kara catches the look in her eye and runs her hands up her sides into her hair, throwing her head back as she starts bouncing on her cock.

Kara’s movements are mesmerizing and quickly becomes more than Alex can bear, releasing the headboard and lurching up to bury her face in Kara’s tits.

“That was pretty bad. Not even thirty seconds,” Kara admonishes.

“Get less amazing tits then,” Alex mutters.

“Don’t worry, I am. I got a breast-reduction surgery scheduled next week.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Alex gasps, looking up at Kara. The shock turns to a glare a moment later when Kara’s expression breaks. “Why would you even joke about that?”

“Because you’re totally obsessed with my boobs.”

“They are completely obsession-worthy,” Alex retorts. “They’re perfect.”

“So you say, yet you’re not exactly unbiased when it comes to my body.”

“And how is that a problem, exactly? You should take it as a compliment that I can’t keep my hands off you when we’re fucking.” Alex gives Kara a light shove on the shoulder and the blonde falls onto her back. Alex rocks up onto her knees and shuffles forward so the tip of the dildo is brushing Kara’s pussy again.

“I guess, but they’re other parts you could admire.”

“Fuck me for having preferences, I guess,” Alex says as she pushes into Kara. “And it’s not like I don’t think your ass is amazing or your legs are amazing or your hips are amazing or your stomach is amazing-”

Kara reaches up to cover her mouth, not that it stops Alex from continuing to compliment her, just more indistinctly.

“You -oh- can’t think every single part -ah- of me is amazing, Alex,” Kara argues.

“Says who?” Alex demands, picking up the pace of her thrusts, trying to get more of those breathy exclamations out of Kara. (And if she’s lucky, maybe a _fuck_.)

“Nob-ah-nobody, re-really. It’s just -gah- you gotta -oh shit- you-you gotta -ungh- think some pa-ah-art of me is just ok-AY!”

Alex leans in, wanting to savor the expression that she knows is forthcoming. “Well, if I _had_ to pick something, I’d probably go with your butthole. Since you’ve never let me use it.”

Kara’s face flushes red with hilarious speed, her hands immediately moving to cover her crack, as if Alex were about to slip it in. “Th-ah-at’s where the poop comes out! It’s dirty!”

“I’m going to get you to let me fuck you in the ass one day and you’re gonna thank me for it.”

Kara squeezed her eyes shut. “Alex! Stop it!”

“Hey, you asked,” the brunette says with a grin. “You close yet?”

“Mmm-ah, yeah, getting there. Suck on my nipple.”

Alex leans down without a word, putting her weight on her right forearm. She doesn’t do as Kara asks, not yet, instead kissing, licking and nipping every part of Kara except the nipple and when she looks up, the expression on Kara’s face says she knows what Alex is doing and is about to do something about it just makes her grin a bit wider.

She runs her other hand up Kara’s side, digging her nails into her soft, impenetrable hide before cupping her jaw. Kara twists her neck, pulling her thumb into her mouth and the sharpness of her teeth and the wetness of her mouth almost makes her come on the spot.

Kara tires of Alex’s games a second later though and grabs her by the back of the neck and repositions her face to where she wants it. And true enough, Kara comes just a moment later.

The blonde goes completely limp, covering her eyes with an arm as Alex plants kisses all over her chest. “Want something to drink before we go again?”

“Nah. I’ll get what I need from you. You should get some more whiskey though.”

Alex rolls off Kara, sliding the harness off after fiddling with the straps for a moment. “I don’t want to get the bed too messy.” Because while Kara may not be able to get drunk, that doesn’t preclude her from making Alex lick it off her body.

“Just for you, I promise. Your buzz is probably wearing off and I want to fuck you while you’re loose.”

“Sure. Why don’t you clean this while I go get liquored up then?”

Kara takes the dildo and rolls off the other side of the bed as Alex pads to the kitchenette. Her buzz is pretty much gone at this point, so she opts for a glass of wine first, uncorking Kara’s bottle of Great Neumann cherry chocolate wine that she drinks for taste. It’s too sweet for her most times, but she figures mixing liquor will help her get her drunk back.

The wine warms her and she refills her glass from the bottle of Wild Turkey that’s sitting out from earlier and carries the two glasses back to the bedroom.

“Whiskey in a wineglass?” Kara asks.

“Had some of your wine and didn’t want to dirty another glass.”

“What happened to the one you were using earlier?”

Alex hesitates, thinking. “Dunno. Wasn’t in the kitchen. Must’ve put it down on a horizontal surface in the living room when I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Problem for tomorrow then. Finish that and come lay down.” Alex obeys, emptying her glass in three hearty gulps and yep, she’s definitely starting to feel it again.

Kara takes a far more delicate sip from her own glass, waiting patiently as Alex crawls back onto the bed.

Kara has a length of black silk in her hands and Alex thinks that she’s going to tie her to the headboard for a brief moment, instead she places the cloth over her eyes. “Really?” Alex asks in a slightly plaintive tone.

“I told you to hold onto the bars earlier. You didn’t think I’d let that go unpunished?”

Alex sighs, though it’s mostly for Kara’s benefit. Truth be told, she really doesn’t mind when Kara wants to play games because the outcome is always worth it, but the blindfold means Kara is going to take her time. “I feel I should mention you wouldn’t have this problem if you hadn’t cut your hair.”

“Can’t do hair bondage. I get headaches. Remember?”

“Only because you can’t not pull. There’s something to be said for being able to control yourself.”

“Just take it as a compliment to your beauty that I can’t.” The bed creaks and she can feel the mattress shift as Kara moves, yet nothing indicates Kara is about to fuck her.

She lets a full minute pass before her patience wears out. “There’s a difference between- oh holy shit!”

Alex should’ve seen it coming from a mile away because it was an utterly Kara move, yet she is caught completely by surprise when Kara blows a gust of near-freezing air across her nipples.

Alex scowls when she hears Kara blowing some more, but this time, the air isn’t aimed at her, but seems like Kara is cooling the room.

“Kara!” Alex complains because while the blonde may be immune to the weather, she most definitely is not.

Alex resists the urge to rub her gooseflesh. Kara is deliberately making her cold, so any attempt to reverse the process would probably be ill-advised. Sure enough, her perseverance is rewarded a few seconds later when she detects the faintest sound of skin chafing and then feels Kara’s warmer-than-normal hands on her breasts.

Alex doesn’t feel Kara’s weight depressing the bed, so she figures she must be floating above her as she starts torturing her, alternating between sharp little gusts of chill air and touches from her friction-warmed hands. It quickly becomes almost unbearable because as arousing as this temperature play is, she wants Kara to actually touch her for more than three seconds at a time.

Alex fists her hands in the sheets and presses her legs together when the chilly bursts start wandering a bit too far south for her comfort. Kara pulls them open again and Alex resigns herself to quite literally getting a case of blue bean, but Kara switches it up very abruptly with a long, slow lick to her labia.

“Oh, fucking finally,” Alex gasps, hands flying to bury themselves in Kara’s luscious golden locks.

She feels the mattress sink as Kara lands and her strong, delicate hands grab her thighs, adjusting them over her shoulders as she starts to fuck her in earnest. Kara’s mouth on her cunt is the best feeling in the world, nose rolling her clit side-to-side while her tongue maps every crack, crevice, and fold of her vagina. “Come on, Kara, I know you can do better than that!”

Alex wants to come, badly, and letting Kara know that seems to have been the wrong move because the blonde disengages, pulling out of her crotch and floating off the mattress. It’s enough to make her want to scream. Which she does, a little. She thinks she may have been a tad hasty in her irritation when she senses Kara resume her place between her legs. She feels cool liquid dribble down and realizes that Kara had gotten her wine (being the only thing it could be as neither of them were into watersports.)

“Oh shieeeeet,” Alex swears as Kara scoops up the alcohol running down her folds. She alternates between pouring a little wine and catching it and worming her tongue inside her, vibrating it just long enough to bring her to the precipice of completion before withdrawing. It’s agonizing and infuriating and _fucking amazing_ and Alex simultaneously needs it to end now and wants Kara to eat her pussy forever.

“Oh holy Jesus fuck _me_,” Alex mumbles as she cants her hips and pushes with all her might to get Kara to finish her off. Kara ignores her urging, of course, the force exerted on her head utterly insignificant to the Kryptonian. “Please, Kara, I’m _so fucking close I’m so fucking close _just_ fucking_ let me _fucking come oh holy motherfuckin’ A._”

Kara plunges her tongue into her again, but adds a pair of fingers to her oral exploration and tweaks her clit with her other thumb and forefinger.

When Alex’s vision clears of the literal stars and her heartbeat approaches something close to normal, she pulls the blindfold off and looks down where Kara is resting her head on her folded hands on her hips. “What?” she asks when Kara just grins.

“You have the coarsest pillowtalk I’ve ever heard. Nobody swears like you when they’re about to come.”

Alex fights the blush that rises, scowling. “Yeah, well, it’s just what comes out. Not my fault my sex-brain seems to have replaced every other word it knows with fuck.”

“Seeing as it’s _your_ sex-brain, I’m pretty sure it is your fault, actually.”

Alex lets her head flop back, trying to catch her breath because that had definitely been a top-twenty orgasm, at least.

“Want another?” Kara asks a moment later.

“Are you gonna dick around and drive me to the brink of insanity?”

“It’s been scientifically proven that orgasms are way more intense when they’re built up to.”

“Whoever came to that conclusion was a moron. Orgasms are better when they’re had.”

“You’re wrong, but I don’t want to waste the time convincing you. Ready to go again?”

“Get me some water first. I need to replenish some of those liquids you fucked out of me.”

When Kara returns, it’s with a chilled bottle of MinuteMaid OJ which sounds way better than water at this precise moment. She drains the sixteen-ounce bottle in one go and sighs, flopping back. She hears more liquid being poured and turns her head to see Kara holding out her whiskey glass, a large ice cube half-submerged in whiskey.

“I do gotta get up and go to work tomorrow,” Alex says, eying the glass.

“Just one more, for me?”

“No more freeze-breath,” she negotiates.

“Fine. But you gotta put the blindfold back on.”

Alex sighs and takes the glass. “The things I do for love.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay but I was without internet for a while. Hopefully, the length makes up for it.

When Alex wakes the next day, it actually is day, the alarm clock reading 3:23 p.m. when she turns it to face her. She flops back, still emotionally exhausted (and maybe slightly hungover,) but bolts upright a second later when she hears the unmistakable sound of a power drill coming from the other room.

She sprints out of bed and stumbles to a halt, pinching herself to make sure she's actually seeing what she's seeing. She can't remember the last time she had a genuinely bad thought about Kara, but seeing the blonde Kryptonian in the center of the wreckage that had once been her beloved Ducati Monster dredges up some particularly choice invective.

"In the name of all that's holy, what the _ fuck _ are you doing to my bike?" Kara doesn't jump or jerk in surprise, unfortunately, not looking away from the tangle of chrome, steel, and copper she's mauling with her hands.

"Take a breath and calm down, Alex. I'm fixing your motorcycle."

Alex takes a second to process the boldness of that statement because the Monster had been running perfectly before Kara had decided to turn their living room into an amateur garage. "Really? Fixing my motorcycle? That's what you're going with?" Alex asks shrilly as she moves to face Kara. "What, pray tell, was so broken in it that you decided to tear it apart in the living room?"

"The fact that it ran on gas," Kara says, giving her a brazenly even look.

She has about six different thoughts on that and they all get tangled up on the way out of her mouth. "Of course it runs on gas, Kara! What else would it run on?" she finally manages to sputter.

"When I'm done with it, water, electricity and a bit of salt." Alex hears metal groaning as Kara pinches and twists something, then wipes her hands on each other and stands up. "You won't let me fix the energy crisis, fine. I'm not allowed to fix the pollution problem, okay. I gotta let you fumble around with artificial intelligence, whatever. But if you think I'm going to let you keep jumping on a bomb every time you need to go get milk, you're sorely mistaken."

Alex sighs. "For the millionth time, internal combustion engines-"

"Literally run on explosions. Ergo, bomb," Kara states, jutting her chin out, glaring.

"Fine, whatever. I don't have time to argue with you about this. I gotta get to work."

"Abso_lute_ly, not. You almost died last night, Alex. You're staying home today."

If there is one thing Kara does that Alex legitimately hates, it is how Kara gets overprotective when she gets injured. One can only listen to Kara bemoan the primitive state of Earth medicine for so long before she wants to hit the other girl. Kara had even tried to convince her parents to bar her from surfing when she got knocked off her board, broke her leg and almost drowned. (She was not looking forward to the day Kara inevitably found out what she really did for a living.)

"Kara," Alex says carefully, exhaling slowly and crossing her arms. "I am perfectly fine. I don't have so much as a bruise and apart from the mental trauma of seeing my bike in such a state, completely unaffected by the crash."

"Well _ I'm _not ready for you to go to work," Kara says, a mulish expression coming over her features. "So you're staying home today."

Alex briefly considers making a break for the door, but sighs, giving up when she realizes she isn't leaving the apartment if Kara doesn't want her to. "Fine. But I need to call my boss."

Kara zips to the bedroom and back, phone in hand. "You can make your call right here," Kara says when she steps toward the bedroom.

"Jesus, I'm not gonna call the cops on you," Alex says, exasperation starting to peak. Kara doesn't say anything, simply folding her arms and arching a brow. Alex resists the urge to roll her eyes and huff, instead pressing the number one on her speed-dial. She explains to the agent that answers her NOC line that she has suffered worse injuries than she initially thought and wasn't going to be able to make it in today. The agent agrees to pass her message along, and Alex hangs up. "Happy?"

This time Alex does roll her eyes when Kara gives her a blinding smile. "Perfectly."

"Good. Now show me what you've done to my baby."

Alex sometimes hates how much of a genius Kara is. (Not really, Alex could never hate Kara, not the least bit.)

* * *

"So?" Kara asks once she explains the mechanics of her hyperconductive piezoelectric battery.

"Where'd you get the selenium and graphite?"

"The Fortress. The Sun Forge there can transmute most natural materials. It'd be better if I could use stellarium and valorite, but they aren't natural to Earth and I know how you have issues with alien tech."

"When did you go to the Fortress?" Alex asks sharply. "Did anyone see you flying?"

"Last night after you wussed out. And no, because I'm smarter than that."

"_I _ wussed out? I had six orgasms. Anyone would pass out after coming six times."

"I could probably go at least eight before I had to tap out. But I wouldn't know."

"Only because you never give me a chance, what with your vibro-tongue. I think I was justified in falling asleep when I did. And it's not the technology I have problems with, it's how it could expose you, as you well know. There's smart and then there's 'you've-been-solving-an-awful-lot-of-global-problems' smart."

"Because I've consistently insisted on taking credit on my inventions. Plus you know how I feel about patents."

"Yes, you've gone on at length on the evils of profiting from the works of your own mind."

"Excessive profiting at the expense of others. There's nothing wrong with benefiting so long as others aren't disadvantaged unnecessarily."

"God, what would people say if they learned that Superman's cousin is a communist," Alex says dryly.

"Please," Kara scoffs. "I'm a socialist at best. Communism only works in theory."

"I stand corrected. Anyways, how much longer 'til my bike is working again?"

"Well, the battery's what took most of the morning to make, so now it's really just putting everything back together again. Of course, everything doesn't go back together the same way, so it'll be a little more complicated putting it back together."

"Kara. How long?"

"Two hours? Three, maybe? It'd go quicker if you wanted to help."

"Sure. It's not like I got anything better to do with my time."

"Great. Since you have wimpy human hands, why don't you grab the drill and put a 10-millimeter bolthead in."

* * *

Alexandra Danvers, senior agent of the Department of Extranormal Operations is perfectly aware of her reputation as one of the best operatives her agency has to offer, with all that entails. She trains hard, she fights hard. She is one of the Department's top scientists, math-crunchers and eggheads. She is smarter than most of the people in the organization, faster and more cunning.

So when she arrives at the desert facility, she cuts a swathe through the agents between her and the operations center. She strides purposefully and knows her expression (judging by those she encounters) has to be equally intense.

"Vasquez," she barks, entering the command center. "I'm looking for Donovan."

The agent in question turns in her seat to face the woman who issued the angry demand, immediately reconsidering her initial response. "Armory, ma'am. Weekly weapons inventory, I think." Alex grunts, giving Vasquez a brusque nod and heads to the hall. “Director’s looking for you, by the way,” Vasquez calls at her back.

Alex suppresses a sigh as she takes the stairs two at a time, heading up to the second floor. Director Henshaw is in his office, reading something on his terminal. He looks up as she knocks on the door and waves for her to come in.

“What do you have to report, Agent Danvers?”

“Sir?” Alex asks, not sure how to take the sudden, direct address.

“Your sister, Agent. The one you said you had under control, yet plucked a plane out of the sky the other day.”

“That was not… She only did it because I was on the plane.”

“You have kept her in hand fairly well so far, which is why I’ve given you significant leeway with her. Now I’m wondering if I haven’t given you too much.”

“Sir, I know-”

“You are my best agent,” Henshaw interrupts, “and have never given me a reason to doubt or second guess you so I’m going to trust you on this, Danvers. But… This is her one strike, extenuating circumstances and all that. Make sure she understands.”

“I’ll pass it along,” she says evenly, exhaling carefully. Director Henshaw is not known as a gentle or moderate man, so hearing him let them off so easily is no small relief. "Is there anything else?"

Henshaw shakes his head, making a shooing gesture with his hand.

Alex doesn’t hesitate, walking quickly away. She hurries back down the stairs and hooks a right, navigating the warren of halls to the armory, the automatic door whirring open ahead of her.

Donovan has a tablet in one hand, a case of rifles open on the table in front of him.

"Good, there you are," she says by way of greeting.

"Agent Danvers, hi, uh, were you looking for me?"

Alex doesn’t give him a verbal answer, simply pulling him around by his shoulder, and kissing him hard on the mouth.

“Is everything okay, Agent Danvers?” he asks carefully when she pulls back.

“Just that I need to get fucked, sooner rather than later.”

She hops up on the table, shifting the crate of guns a bit. A moment of work at her waist and she is pushing her pants down.

Donovan stares for a moment, then hurries to unfasten his belt as well. Alex spits on her hand, reaching down to wet his half-erect cock. She grins, letting her head loll back a bit as she tugs him in while he tugs the back of her knees, spreading them so he can slot in.

“May I ask what brought on this sudden… need?”

“All you need to know is I need your cock in me right now, so shut up and fuck me already.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am,” Donovan replies with a grin, not needing to be told a third time.

She actually rather likes Donovan more than other men if for no other reason than he isn’t into anything too rough, as some agents are, and stops at ‘no,’ which is passingly uncommon.

“_Fuck~ _” Alex hisses as he pushes into her, slow enough that she can adjust to his girth, yet not so slowly as to be teasing. “God, yes,” she mutters as he pauses momentarily when he runs out of dick, then starts withdrawing, slightly faster. “God, yes,” she growls, leaning forward and taking his hand, sliding it up under her shirt. He gets the memo and pushes her shirt up, starts massaging her breast. Alex falls back, closing her eyes and groaning as Donovan reaches down between them and thumbs her clit as he runs his nails along the curve of her breast. Alex grabs the hand on her breast and squeezes, digging his fingers in.

“That feel good?” Donovan asks, leaning down to growl in her ear.

The nearness of his baritone, the weight of his body pressing into her sends a frisson of pleasure through her, so she replies in the most efficient way she knows how, by tangling her fingers in the short hairs on the back of his head and mashing their mouths together.

“More,” Alex mumbles into his neck when he breaks for air. “I need more. Fuck me like you want to break me.”

Alex isn’t an especially submissive woman as such things are counted, she doesn’t get off by being ordered around and dominated like some do, (unless it’s Kara doing the ordering but that’s a separate issue,) but she needs to be fucked into a coma, like _now _.

She lets her eyes roll into the back of her head as Donovan finally gets the memo and begins jackhammering into her, shaking the table and eliciting near-subconscious mantra of '_fuck'_ with each stroke.

She comes after what would normally be an embarrassingly short time, but she’s horny enough that she doesn’t care.

“I’m gonna come,” Donovan grunts maybe fifteen seconds later and she sits up quickly, sliding off the table to her knees. She has and IUD like most working women, so the issue isn’t the chance of the natural result of insemination, but rather the choice between going around with sticky underwear or taking a shower, and if she takes a shower in her freshly-fucked state, that’s all she’ll be doing for the rest of the day, and she actually has things she needs to do.

Donovan’s semen is fairly tasteless as such things go, so she swallows the three modest spurts easily enough.

“Anything else I can do for you. Agent Danvers?” he asks as she licks his cock clean.

“No, that’s all I needed, thanks,” she replies, planting a quick kiss on the tip of his flaccid cock and fixing his underwear and pants.

“Well, glad I could help with whatever this was,” he shoots back with a bemused expression.

Alex makes her escape before Donovan can change his mind about letting her go.

* * *

One of Alex’s favorite things about Kara is how she always picks up the phone, no matter what.

“You are extremely rude sometimes,” Alex says when Kara picks up on the third ring.

_ “I’m… sorry?” _ Kara replies. _ “But, just for clarity, what was I being rude about?” _

“You know what. You messed with my bike,” Alex replies tersely.

_ “I’m sorry. Did it not start? Was it slower?" _ Kara asks, confused.

“No, the problem isn’t that it was slower.”

_ “So you mean I made it faster.” _

‘That’s not what I said,” Alex shoots back quickly, too quickly and with too much heat, she immediately recognizes.

_ “So I made it a lot faster. Enough to get you wound up.” _

“Seriously, some warning would’ve been nice,” Alex grouses after a moment.

_ “Really am sorry. I’ll make it up to you tonight.” _

“Gonna have to be some something,” Alex says, sensing opportunity.

_ “I’ll make double sure to think of something then.” _

“Good,” Alex pauses, “and I’ll be sure to get out of here on time then.”

_ “It’s a date,” _ Kara says and Alex can hear the smile in her voice. _ “Love you.” _

“Love you more,” Alex replies quietly.

_ “Impossible, but let’s agree to disagree,” _ Kara replies.

“Should I bring anything home? Wine, dessert?”

Kara hums into the phone, a pleased sound that does inconveniently pleasant things to her body. _ “Sure. And potstickers.” _

“Of course, that goes without saying,” Alex replies evenly.

_ “Hey, mind your lane,” _ Kara says mock-sternly. _ “I’m the fun, sassy one in this relationship and you’re the serious, sultry one.” _

“You really know how to walk the razor's edge between compliment and insult you know?"

_ "What can I say, it's one of my many talents.” _

As slow as she is walking, Alex is running out of empty hallway. “Gotta get back to work, but I’ll call to let you know when I’m on my way home.”

_ “Great, see you at six?” _

“Make it six-thirty? Gotta make a stop or two on my way home, yeah?”

_ “Six-thirty then. I’ll be waiting.”_

* * *

Locating Winn is a simple task when she is willing to use her Kryptonian senses. She finds him three floors below where his desk was, fiddling with a machine in one of the server rooms.

“Hey Kara-” he starts to say, but she doesn’t give him a chance to finish the thought, seizing his hand and yanking him away from the server stack.

“Winn, I need to tell you something, but I need to know if I can trust you.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Winn replies, looking more than slightly confused. “You’re my friend, Kara. You can trust me with anything.”

“This is serious, Winn. This is… well, not _ quite _ life or death, but I could get in real big trouble with the government if you tell anyone.”

That gets his attention, straightening his spine and squaring his shoulders. “You can tell me anything, Kara,” he says as seriously as she’d ever heard.

“Good. But we gotta go up to the roof.”

That causes his expression to crack slightly. “The… the roof? Is that necessary? I’m not a huge fan of heights.”

“It is, if you’re gonna believe me. I promise you’ll be perfectly safe.” Kara doesn’t wait for his reply, simply grabbing his hand and dragging him up the stairwell.

“So, you remember the woman that caught that plane the other day, Flight 237? That was me.”

Winn looks at her for a second or three, then he chuckles. “Right, you, sunny Kara Danvers, flew up into the sky and caught a plane.”

Kara doesn’t offer an immediate reply, continuing her backward step to the edge of the roof. Winn starts panicking as she gets within a couple feet. To his credit, he starts advancing to her, hand out, face open in alarm despite his professed acrophobia. “Kara? Kara! What are you doing?”

She keeps her smile in place as she steps back off the roof. She lets herself fall for about a second and a half before she kicks her feet, reorienting her gravity field and rises back up to the roof, landing about halfway between him and the edge. She shifts as she lands, flexing her slightly to absorb the impact.

“What… the…” Winn says faintly, eyes the size of dinner plates.

“My name is Kara Zor-El, Scion of the House of El. I am the last daughter of Krypton and will honor my world by living by the principles of my people. I’ve lived in the shadows most of my life, but not anymore. I will be a hero. But… I can’t do it alone. I need help. Your help.”

Winn gives her a long look, long enough that she thinks he might refuse, but he nods. “Okay. Okay. You’re… I dunno, what, his, uh, his sister, his cousin?”

“We’re related, if that’s a real concern.”

“It’s sort of? Sorry,” Winn says, shaking his head. “It’s just… I was not expecting any of this when you asked me up here.”

“You’re not freaking out?”

“Maybe a little, on the inside? But… I mean, my best friend is a superhero… I think a tiny bit of freaking out is justified.”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Kara concedes with a smile.

“One last thing, why did you tell me all this? Other than because you want my help.”

“Let me answer your question with one of my own. Are you gay?”

“What? No. Why?”

“Then why haven’t you ever had sex with me?”

“Because… You’re my friend.”

“I have other friends. They don’t have a problem screwing me.”

“I… I don’t want to be that kind of friend to you. I like you too much.”

“And that’s why I told you. I can’t do this on my own, I need someone to have my back. Someone who I can trust.”

“And you picked me.”

Kara nods. “So are you in?”

Winn just grins.

* * *

“This is a nice place,” Winn says as he closes the door to the apartment behind him. “How can you afford this by yourself?”

“I don’t. I split the rent with my sister, Alex.”

“Alex, the cute brunette with the bob? Drops you off sometimes?” Kara turns to look over her shoulder, arching an eyebrow. “I pay attention,” he says defensively. “I thought she was your girlfriend.”

“She’s both,” Kara says, taking off her cardigan and folding it over the back of the couch.

“So what are we doing here? Not that it isn’t nice to see where you live.”

“Well, I was hoping you could help me with my costume, maybe one or two other things.”

When Winn turns to ask what she means, pulling his eyes from the view out the balcony, he starts, Kara standing far closer to him than he expected. Close enough to touch, almost close enough to kiss.

“Kara, what are you doing?”

“What I’ve wanted to do for a while now,” Kara answers, closing the distance between them. Winn opens his mouth to ask what she means, but it becomes immediately obvious as she wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him. And it’s… wow. That’s really all that goes through his mind for some time, somewhere between a second and a year because Kara is easily the best kisser he’s ever kissed. Winn settles his hands on her hips and lets Kara push into him, embrace him. He’s no virgin, he’s had a fair number of girlfriends, but Kara… he’s never wanted someone like he wants Kara.

When Kara pulls back, he has to almost consciously reengage his higher brain. “I’m going to assume you liked that as you didn’t seem to hear me the first time,” Kara tosses back over her shoulder as she turns and steps away.

“Y-yeah, I, uh, I liked it a lot. You... uh… You kiss like a pro. But…why are you doing this?”

Kara pauses, halfway to what he assumes is the bedroom door and turns, giving him a surprised look. “Do you not want to fuck me?”

“It’s not that I _ don’t _ want to fuck you-”

“Then stop talking and take your clothes off.”

Kara blurs, suddenly right in front of him and gives him a peck on the cheek and disappears into the bedroom just as quickly.

“WINN!”

He jumps, startled out of his thoughts. He moves to the open doorway and stumbles to a halt because Kara, mousy, quiet, dresses-like-a-1950’s-housewife-Kara is spread out on the bed in what even to him looks like expensive scraps of lace.

“Like what you see?”

Winn just nods because something seems to have short-circuited somewhere between his brain and his mouth. Kara is… the phrase _smoking hot _comes to mind as his brain comes out of the brief fugue. Given how she dresses, generally covering everything from collarbone to knees, she doesn’t give much to go on, but splayed out in her lingerie, he can definitely see she’s got that 32-28-32 thing going on.

Kara lets him stare for another moment (because she knows exactly how hot she is,) but she does have other things she wants to do today so she gives a discreet cough that jars Winn out of his stupor. She manages not to smile too condescendingly as he fumbles his way out of his clothes, reaching for him when he crawls up the bed.

Winn doesn’t have the biggest cock she’s seen, and she’s had partners with more muscle, but he’s something around six or seven inches and clearly exercises enough to stay healthy. He looks almost painfully erect as closes the distance, his balls pulled up tight and his pulse throbs heavily when she wraps her hand around his dick.

His mouth is hot and hungry, nipping her bottom lip, licking the back of her teeth.

Something seems to occur to him a moment later because he breaks the kiss and there’s definitely a question in his eyes.

“Hey, uh, not to ruin the mood or anything, but…have you ever…”

“I’m not gonna break your dick when you put it in me, if you’re worried about that. You’ve seen me have sex plenty of times,” Kara says, answering his unasked question.

“Yeah, well, there’s a difference between letting a guy fuck you because he’s bored or waiting to see Ms. Grant and… this,” he says, gesturing between them. “Or at least I hope there is.”

“Yes, Winn, there's a world of difference between Brad or Ted fucking me at work and my best friend fucking me in my bed. But I’m still not gonna break your dick, so fuck me however you want. Except in the ass. I don’t do anal. Everything else is fair game.”

“Are you on the pill?”

“No, but that’s because I don’t menstruate unless I want to. Kryptonian women have more control over our biology than human women do.”

“That’s… handy.”

“It is. So come in me as much as you want. Now are we done talking?”

“Yeah, yeah I just-”

“Winn,” Kara says, silencing him with a finger on his lips. “Stop talking about fucking me and fuck me. You have three seconds to get in these guts or I’m kicking you out and never talking to you again.”

She has already removed her panties when he was talking so he shifts one hand to support himself and looks down to position his cock at her entrance and presses in.

His eyes go lidded and he lets out a long, low groan as he sheathes himself to the base turns her on almost as much as having his cock in her does.

She tries not to flex on his cock too much as this is supposed to be about his pleasure more than hers, but she really does like Winn and she really likes having him in her bed, having him in _her_, so she really can’t help it when she flexes her walls and he comes.

The groan that he utters is the hottest thing yet and she lets her eyes flutter closed for a moment as she luxuriates in the male warmth filling her insides.

She opens her eyes when she feels him start to pull out, shame and embarrassment warring for dominant expression.

“Oh my God Kara, I’m so sorry-” he starts to apologize, but she’s not going to have it.

Kara locks her ankles behind his hips and pulls Winn down for a kiss and only lets him up when she’s sure she’s thoroughly derailed his thoughts.

“Winn, it’s fine, I swear to you. Nobody I like ever lasts more than a minute or two in me. I literally have superpowered pussy so I can pretty much make any guy come on command. Think of it as a comment on how much I like you.”

“Oh… okay, I guess. Are you gonna let me go?”

“In a minute. I like having your cock in me, so just relax,” Kara tells him, tugging him down to lay on her.

He relaxes after a moment, adjusting himself to pillow his head on one of her boobs.

“So did you have any ideas on your costume?”

“What?” Kara asks, unprepared for the sudden question.

“Your costume. I assume that’s why you brought me over here. That and the dick.”

Oh, uh, yeah actually. I do. Something along the lines of Superman’s. Red on blue.”

Winn shifts again, his chin digging into her breast so he can meet her eyes. “Red on blue I can do. They like your House colors or something? Was that a thing on Krypton?”

“No, they stand for two of the Kryptonian Virtues, altruism and peace. Though it doesn’t hurt that they’re also two of the three American colors.”

“That it does not,” Winn agrees. “One question though, how did you know I sew? It’s not something I think I’ve ever talked about at work.”

“I pay attention. You’ve got patches on some of your jackets or sweaters that you did yourself.”

“Do you pay that much attention to everyone or should I feel special?”

“Little bit of both. I like you, so I was paying a bit more attention.”

“That’s cool. So… do you got any stuff, cloth or anything to use yet?”

Kara turns her head and slides out from under Winn, wiggling off the bed enough to look under it and pulls out a bundle bound with string.

“What’s this?”

“I went around and bought some Nomex at some of the sports stores. Don’t worry, I changed my clothes, wore a wig, used cash.”

“Good. Cool, yeah, this should work,” Winn says, unfurling a length of the blue fabric. “Alright, let me get some measurements and we can start roughing it out.” He swings his legs off the bed and reaches for his underwear.

“What are you doing?” Kara asks, propping herself up on an elbow and suppressing a smirk.

“Putting my clothes on?” Winn replies, clearly unsure of what she’s really asking.

“Why?”

“Because… we’re done having sex?”

“Says who?” Winn opens his mouth to answer again, but realizes after a second he doesn’t have one. “You humans are so freaking weird. You have the entire female population of your species in willing compliance to a system that’s one step short of outright sexual slavery, yet you all, almost to a man, feel the need to cover up the moment you’re done fucking.”

“There’s lot to unpack in that,” Winn says when he manages to process her statement.

“Yeah, a bit,” she agrees. “Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot, and I mean a _ lot _ of problems with your species and your planet when I first got here, but I have since been thoroughly culturalized. Sex wasn’t nearly so open on Krypton. Or, you know, at all.”

“So…”

“You put your boxers on and I’m kicking you out.”

“Okay, the apartment is a no-clothes-zone. Got it.”

“You like looking at me, I like looking at you. Simple as that. Want anything to drink?” Kara doesn’t wait for his answer, hopping off the bed and leaving the room, putting deliberate sway in her ass.

Kara has a glass of orange juice waiting for him when he emerges, which he accepts with a simple smile. “Do you have a-” Winn starts to ask, but cuts himself off when the blonde points to something over his shoulder. “Ah, cool. Let’s get started then.” The sewing machine is new (having acquired it with the rest of her superhero supplies) as are the scissors, needles, and vinyl tape measure.

Winn tries to maintain his professionalism, but she has a Kryptonian physique and he still has a major crush on her so his dick starts standing up pretty much immediately. Kara tries to keep herself equally detached because this was the primary reason she brought him over, but she can’t help eying his cock when it wags as he moves around her.

“Okay, that has to be getting uncomfortable by now,” Kara says as he finishes his first round of measurements.

“It’s… ah, it’s fine, it’s really not that bad.”

Kara suppresses the urge to sigh. It would be her luck that her best friend was a beta. “Winn,” Kara says, grabbing his shoulders and looking him right in the eyes. “You are my best friend, I’m not just saying that, I mean it. This thing between us, it isn’t transactional, it’s not quid pro quo. I like fucking you. I like kissing you and I’ll probably like blowing you. I know you’ve had a crush on me pretty much from the moment we met, and I know finding out I’m Kryptonian has put me in a different light or whatever, but I’m telling you, you don’t have to tiptoe around me. I’m just as slutty as any other female on this planet.”

“I hear what you’re saying Kara, I really do, but… you’re related to Superman. I’m never going to be able to think of you as just some slut. Especially not in your home.”

This time she does sigh. It’s annoying if not surprising. “Okay, fine. How about your girlfriend then? Let it be my job to keep you sexually satisfied.”

“What about Alex? Is she gonna be okay with you dumping her?”

“Oh, I’d never break up with her, not in a million years. Don’t get me wrong Winn, you’re my best male friend and I like you a lot, but I love Alex. She’s… she means more to me, has done more for me than anyone else.”

“So… we wouldn’t be exclusive.”

“No, but neither would you. You’d be dating Alex too.”

“She barely knows me; what makes you think she’d want to be with me?”

“We’re a package deal, you date one Danvers sister, you date the other, that’s how it’s always been.” She pauses, hesitates for a second. “Have I never mentioned that?”

Winn doesn’t try to stop the eye-roll or the smile. “No, Kara, you’ve never mentioned you only date as a throuple with your sister.”

“Well, I do. Regardless, you’ve got nothing to worry about. You’re a really great guy, you’re nice and you’re super smart and you lasted longer with me than most guys their first time. It’ll be fine. Now, as your girlfriend, I can’t in good conscience let you walk around my apartment slinging that boner around, so go sit down on the couch.”

“Hold on, I don’t actually recall agreeing to be your boyfriend.”

Kara turns back, already pulling him to the couch. She arches an eyebrow. “Are you saying you don’t want to date the only female Kryptonian on the planet? I have it on good authority that I give the best blowjobs in the world. It’s a privilege reserved for those who have the rare distinction of being called my significant other.”

“Hold on, I didn’t say I _ didn’t _ want to be your boyfriend, I said I haven’t agreed yet.”

“So are you turning me down?”

“No.”

“Great. Now sit down on the couch.”

Her hair gets tied up somewhere between the dinner table with the sewing supplies and the couch with a scrunchy that he’s ninety percent sure wasn’t on her wrist or anything but then Kara drops to her knees and wraps her lips around the head of his cock and where the scrunchy came from is the last thing on his mind. She takes one of his hands and puts it on the back of her head and Winn takes over. He can’t attest to her blowjob skills on a global level, but he has no problem giving her a firm first place when it comes to personal experience. Kara’s mouth is warm and her tongue comes just a hair shy of wrapping completely around his dick and she has zero gag reflex and can hold her breath for an inhuman amount of time (which makes sense, as she’s not human, of course.) Her eyes don’t even water when he gets a little rough with her, jabbing her soft palate a couple of times and even slides her head down so he pumps his seed right down her throat.

“So,” Kara says when he lets her off his once-again flaccid manhood, “best blowjob you’ve ever had, or best blowjob you’ve ever had?”

“Is that a serious question?”

“Not really, but I want to hear you say it.”

“Okay, yes, that was the best blowjob I’ve ever had.”

Kara’s expression morphs into one of her signature sunny smiles in an instant, popping up to give him a peck on the cheek. “Great. I’m going to do some laundry while you start on my costume.”

Winn’s done fifteen minutes later, which is much faster than she’d anticipated, but once she sees her costume, completely understands why. “You know, I bought plenty of cloth, you don’t have to be so… efficient.”

Winn has done good work, objectively speaking. All her important bits are covered, even if Winn had used the absolute minimum cloth required. (And calling it a costume is being generous.) Her top is a loop of the Nomex approximately three or four inches wide, half red and half blue. It hangs from her neck, then crosses over her chest (red over blue at the moment) and cups her breasts and closes around her back. Her bottom is nothing more than the lower part of a bikini, blue, relatively conservative, but still swimwear.

“I know, but I saw the condition the dress you wore when you caught the plane was in. Nomex is a bit more durable than silk or polyester or whatever you were wearing, but it’s not designed for that kind of wear and tear.”

“I get that, sure, but this is a swimsuit. A nice swimsuit, but still a swimsuit. Nobody’s going to take me seriously as a hero if I go out in this.”

“Maybe not at first, but nobody’ll be talking about your costume after you put out a building fire or three.”

“Winn…”

“We can talk about patterns or decorations, but the design isn’t changing. You don’t like it, you can find someone else to make your costume.”

Kara eyes herself in the full-length mirror. It’s definitely not what she’d imagined when she’d brought Winn over to help her, but her only real problem with it is that it really looks like something she’d wear to the beach.

"This really is the optimal outfit,” Winn continues. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume you’re bulletproof?”

“Pretty sure. Never been shot, but I’ve never skinned my knee or broken a bone either.”

“So that’s a problem. You might be indestructible, but Nomex isn’t. The more material you wear, the more that has to get replaced when you get shot, burned, building falls on you, a car hits you… hey do aliens have laser guns?"

"Most do. When you've solved clean energy and faster-than-light travel, energy projection weapons aren't much of a challenge."

"Okay, I have about another sixty questions on top of the six hundred I have already, but we’ll put a pin in that for now. What about the rest? Do you have the rest of his powers?”

“You mean flight, strength, heat vision, freeze breath? Yeah.”

“So the whole package then?”

Kara nodded. “As far as I know at least. It’s not like I have a wealth of experience to draw on. All my life, it’s been how to suppress my powers, not how to use them.”

“Well, you’ll get to figure them out now. I’m sure you’ll be a quick learner.”

“Dude! Why would you say that!” Kara exclaims. “Are you trying to jinx me?”

“Oh come on, you just said you’re literally bulletproof!”

“I said probably! I told you I’ve never been shot at.”

“Well, even if you aren’t bulletproof, you can just use your speed. You got superspeed, right?”

“Winn, I swear by Rao, if you don’t shut up I’m gonna strangle you,” Kara growls, fixing him with a stern look.

“Alright, alright, I’m done jinxing you. But now that we got your costume done, it’s time for the other half of being a superhero. Don’t matter how good you look, you’re just a chick with really good cosplay until you stop a crime.”

“So how do we do this? Do I just fly around until I hear something?”

“Sure, you can do that, but I got something a little more targeted in mind.” Winn leans over the arm of the couch and sets one of the bags on the coffee table. “So, I had to stop by a couple different places to get it all, but I got everything a fledgling superhero could possibly need. Laptop for a little light hacking of emergency services, police scanner, radio to listen in on cop’s conversations.”

Kara frowns, crossing her arms under her breasts. “How legal is this?”

“Legal?” he asks, giving Kara a surprised look. “Scanner and radio are kind of sketchy, but not outright illegal. Hacking the 911 call center is absolutely a no-no though.”

“Wait, you didn’t say you’d be hacking anything!”

“Kara, relax. I got this. They’ll never be able to track it back to me, on the off chance they even detect anything.”

“Are you sure?” Kara asks again, clearly not.

“Trust me. There’s a reason why I work on the top floor with you.”

“If you say. How long do you think this’ll take?”

“Can’t imagine it’ll take too long to find someone up to no good. I wouldn’t expect any daylight bank robberies, but I’m sure there’s someone out there who’s trying to outrun some cops or holding up a bodega or something. Gimme a few minutes to get up on the emergency services and we’ll be good to go.”

Kara takes the opportunity to turn around and reexamine herself in the full-length mirror. She has to admit, Winn has outdone himself with her costume. A small voice in the back of her head, all that was left of her Kryptonian sensibilities, complains at the amount of skin she is showing, but the rest of her, the parts that had long since adjusted to and assimilated into Earth culture is quite satisfied. It is more modest than a lot of outfits she’s seen on the beach and it shows off her physique to excellent advantage.

"Where's my cape?"

"Have you never seen The Incredibles? Capes are a hazard. Besides they look dumb. Tell your cousin that next time you talk to him. Actually, no, never tell him that."

"Capes are iconic," Kara disagreed. "Both Superman and Batman wear capes. You saying Batman's cape is stupid?"

"Okay, Batman's the one guy that gets away with a cape because his is functional. You don't need a cape to fly or glide, we've agreed you're probably invulnerable so you don't need one to block stuff and you hit way harder than a cape-stun could. So no cape for you."

"It's my costume. I think I should get the final say over what's included."

"If you were making it yourself, sure you would. But seeing as you're not, you don't."

Kara pouts, but Winn has already turned back to the computer.

A thought occurs to her as she goes back to examining herself in the mirror, imagining Alex’s expression when she comes home and sees her in her new superhero “suit.” Alex has a hard enough time keeping her hands off her even when she’s wearing regular clothes. Seeing her in her own Super-bikini? They are gonna break the bed.

“What are you smiling about?” Winn asks absently, fingers still tapping away at his keyboard.

“Just thinking about how there’s no possible way Alex is gonna be able to complain about me being a superhero once she sees me in this.”

Winn sits up suddenly, alarm loud on his face. “You mean she doesn’t know you’re doing this?”

“No, she’s pretty set against me using my powers under any circumstances. She got pretty mad when I caught her plane.” Kara pauses in her preening for a moment when she doesn’t hear Winn start typing again. “Something wrong?”

“Uh, yeah, probably. Would it be safe to assume that Alex is kind of in charge of you?”

“How is that relevant?”

“It’s just… your sister scares me. A lot.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything to you.”

“Yeah, that’s not what I’m worried about. How is she gonna react when she finds out you’ve been superheroing behind her back?”

“I can handle Alex, Winn. All I have to is take my shirt off and she immediately loses her train of thought.”

“Be that as it may, I’m not sure this is a ‘ask forgiveness rather than permission’ situation.”

“Winn, it’s _fine_, I promise. Just find me a crime to stop.”

Winn hesitates another second before he refocuses his attention on his laptop screen. The computer chirps as he does so. “And we have our first crime. How fast can you fly?”

Kara grins. “Faster than a speeding bullet.”

* * *

The first thing Kara feels, even before she opens her eyes, is sore, like someone has taken a bat to every square centimeter of her body.

She groans, trying to roll some of the discomfort out of her neck as she opens her eyes. The first thing she sees is a large black man standing over her.

“Those cuffs are low-grade Kryptonite. Radioactive mineral from your home planet. It weakens you.”

Her confusion only lasts until she casts her gaze around and sees that she’s shackled to a polished steel slab, her restraints a sickly, poisonous, slightly luminescent green.

Every breath is an effort and her heart thumps heavily in her chest. “Where... Where am I? Who are you?” she manages after a moment.

“Name's Hank Henshaw. And I believe you already know Agent Alexandra Danvers.” Sure enough, her sister is standing at the foot of the table she is lying naked on. “Welcome to the Department of Extranormal Operations. We here at the DEO monitor and protect Earth from extraterrestrial presence and-or invasion. That means you.”

“What… How did I get here?”

“We tranquilized you with a Kryptonite dart. As for what you’re doing here, this is where you are going to be spending the rest of your life.”

“What? Alex, what is he…” she starts to ask before she runs out of breath.

“Director, can I talk to my sister alone?” Alex asks.

He nods. “I have other things to attend to. Come find me when you’re done.”

Alex walks around the slab and kneels by her head, stroking her hair. “I warned you, Kara. You knew women aren’t allowed to be superheroes. I tried to stop you but you wouldn’t listen. I’ll visit and I’ll try to bring Mom, but you're never going to be allowed to leave.”

“Alex,” Kara wheezes.

“Alright. I can’t take this. If I unshackle you from the bed, do you swear on my life you won’t escape?”

Kara nods. Alex pulls out a key and opens the manacles around her feet, then the ones at the top, though she doesn’t take the ones off her wrists. It’s enough though, she still feels weak and vaguely sick, but she can breathe normally.

The next thing she knows, something cool, smooth and slightly rubbery was flopping on her face.

She sees Alex, pants undone and with their dildo attached standing above her. “Open up, babe,” Alex says, tapping the dildo against her forehead.

“Alex!”

“Hey, you know the rules. You were flying around, stopping muggers and carrying ambulances.”

Sighing, Kara wiggles up until her head is hanging off the slab and opens her mouth. Alex had been keeping it in her pussy because Kara could taste the distinctive flavor of her partner’s juices on the dick as Alex rams it down her throat.

The Kryptonite handcuffs weaken her enough that her throat starts to get a little sore after a few minutes of Alex’s rough face-fucking. Alex pulls out before she comes and moves to the side of the slab, swiveling Kara around and pulling her ankles into the air to rest on her shoulders. Kara props herself up with one arm, the other massaging her clit as Alex slides the dildo into her.

“So how are you getting me out of here?”

“Who said anything about a jailbreak? I was serious, Kara. The US government can’t and won’t tolerate someone who can be controlled like you can. You’re too weak to be trusted with your powers.”

“Weak? I can carry a 747 on my back!”

Alex pulls out and flips her over, pressing her face into the slab as she continues fucking her from behind. “Not the kind of strength I’m talking about. You’re probably the second strongest person on this planet, yet anyone who wants can bend you over and have their way with you. You may be Kryptonian, but you're just a slut, a tight piece of ass that wants nothing more than to be taken and fucked.” Alex lets out a little giggle. “You like that, don’t you? I can feel your cunt tighten when I call you a slut. How can you expect to be trusted when you’re liable to help someone commit a crime if he lets you blow him?”

“But… everyone said…”

“It was a test, you dumb bitch,” Alex growls in her ear, biting it. She straightens, digging her fingers into Kara’s back and dragging them down until she squeezes Kara’s ass. “Every day of your life on Earth was a test to see if you could resist being dominated and mastered and every day you failed. So now you will spend the rest of your life as the alien cumdumpster slut you’ve proven yourself to be.”

Alex gives one last thrust and pulled out. Kara rolls over as Alex does so, lower lip trembling. “I thought-”

“That I loved you?” Alex interrupts. “I love your pussy, I love your ass, I love your mouth. I love the way you suck my dick and eat me out, but I never loved you.” Alex rolls her eyes when she sees tears welling in Kara’s eyes. “And as if either of us needed any more proof that you’re good for nothing more than to be a fucktoy, now you’re gonna cry.” Alex sighs. “Jesus you’re pathetic.” Alex shoves Kara in the shoulder, pushing her down. She waits a moment to see if Kara will finally show some backbone and shakes her head in disappointment when Kara just lays there, tears running down her cheeks.

“Up,” Alex commands a moment later, pulling Kara to her feet by her arm.

“Where are we going?” Kara asks, leaning heavily into Alex for support.

“Your new living quarters. Kara Zor-El, you are found to be in violation of the Extraterrestrial Immigrant Secrecy Act and are sentenced to life in prison under the custody of the Department of Extranormal Operations as Inmate 3176.” Alex's face is stone, utterly emotionless, her words hard and flat.

“Alex, you can’t be serious,” Kara says a few minutes later. “This is a…”

“Prison cell?” Alex offers. “You’re a prisoner, where else should we put you?” The room itself is largish, approximately a thirty-foot diameter octagon of poured concrete, but there is a much smaller octagon of glass that takes up about half the room containing a bed, toilet, and showerhead.

“I just want to go home with you,” Kara says in a small voice.

“Well you fucked up any chance of that happening. This is your home now, get used to it,” Alex says coldly and slams the door shut.

“It’s a shame,” Hank says when Alex steps out into the command area. “We could’ve used a Kryptonian working in the DEO.”

“Yeah but I guess its true that all women are sluts, no matter what planet they’re born on.”

Hank grunts, staring at the monitor where he had watched the whole thing. “You two going to be okay?”

"I'll have to bring her potstickers and chocolate and make love to her as an apology and explain how that was all just a show for your benefit. It'll take a while, but she'll forgive me eventually."

"You sure? She may be an alien but she is your sister, criminal or not."

"Yeah. I've been conditioning and training her for years. She's incapable of staying mad at me forever."

The Director nods. “That’s something at least. I’ve always said you spend too much time here. Would be a shame for you to lose a relationship because of it.”

“Thank you, sir, but I’ll be fine. Since she’s settled, is there anything else you need from me?”

Henshaw shakes his head. “Report to Vasquez and see what she needs. If nothing, you have the day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kara Supercunt costume


	5. Chapter 5

Director Henshaw is one of the most stoic men Alex has ever known, rarely ever raising his voice or letting anger or displeasure show on his face. Yet she can read his foul mood from across the room, watching the news coverage of Vartox’s rampage across National City. The Valeronian is strong and fast, his weapon hewing steel like paper and worst of all, he’s bulletproof. He’s already put four of the Department’s best operators in the infirmary and is showing no signs of slowing down.

“Sir, I know it’s unorthodox but I was thinking-”

“I know what you’re thinking, Agent Danvers. It’s not unorthodox, it’s exactly what this organization is meant to prevent,” Henshaw sighed. “Your sister is a criminal, an inmate in our prison. But…we’re never going to beat him ourselves. At least not without an unacceptable amount of collateral damage.” Hank nods. “Go get her. But she’s your responsibility. She screws up, it’s on your head.”

* * *

Kara barely glances at Alex when she enters at first, only doing a double-take when she sees something hanging over her arm. The cell she is kept in is quite Spartan, containing some furniture that is mostly there for the comfort of whoever is using her as stress relief at the moment. That happens to be an agent named Jensen currently, who has her on her back on the bed (a real mattress surprisingly,) balls deep in her.

Alex slinks up behind him, doffing her shirt before embracing him. "You almost done?" She asks, pressing her breasts into his back.

"Uh, yeah," he says absently.

"Good. You've been doing really good work lately so I thought I thought I'd come and see if you wanted to have a turn with the Kryptonian and the agent that caught her."

It’s only another moment before her pants pool around her ankles and she climbs up on the bed, straddling Kara's face.

"You got a blowjob from her yet?" Alex asks through a groan as Kara's hands settle on her thighs and starts dutifully eating her out.

"Nah, her pussy is all I need," Jensen says.

"Well, you don't know what you're missing out on. You haven't had your dick sucked until Kara sucks your dick. Here, let me show you."

Alex nudges him out of Kara and guides the blonde to her knees, kneeling beside her. "Oh holy fuck," Jensen groans when Kara starts sucking, vibrating her tongue and throat at super speed.

She slides a hand down his chest to massage his balls, kissing Kara and sucking some of his come out of the blonde's mouth, showing him his come on her tongue before she swallows.

"You were right, Alex, that is the best blowjob I've ever gotten."

Alex smiles as she uses Kara's longer hair to blot Jensen's cock dry before she puts it away.

Kara shifts to a sitting position on the bed, knees pressed together out of spite when Jensen departs.

‘What do you want?” Kara asks acerbically.

Alex sighs internally. It's been four days since the blonde was been taken into custody and Kara still has yet to so much as give her a ‘hello.’

"I'm here with a peace offering. There's a Valeronian Fort Rozz escapee named Vartox we need your help with."

"Not my problem. I'm not a superhero, remember?"

"Kara-"

"No, Alex. I'm not Kara Danvers or Kara Zor-El. I'm Inmate 3176. You spent every day of the last thirteen years telling me I can never be anything more than a whore. Well, guess what, it finally sunk in. You need an orgasm, I'm your slut. You need anything else, go find someone else."

Alex sets the bundle in her arms down and squats before the naked blonde, resting her hands on her knees. "Kara, I don't know how many times I can say I'm sorry. I did everything I could to try to keep you off the DEO's radar. But I'm not in charge. There was nothing I could do once Director Henshaw ordered you brought in. And I've done everything I can to make it up to you. I got you a real bed, I bring you real food, I make sure you're not fucked too often. I've even been covering for you at CatCo. If you ever want to leave here, you need to help us."

That gets Kara's attention. "I was under the impression that this was a life sentence."

"For most, it is. And I won't lie to you, Director Henshaw is intensely xenophobic. But I managed to convince him you can help us with Vartox. You turn him down now and you'll never see the light of day."

“So you want me to be the DEO's attack dog now?”

“I want you to be whatever gets you out of here. Today you need to be a thug so you will be."

"You really want me out of here? What about that stuff you said before?"

"I said what I had to so Henshaw would let me see you. I didn't mean any of it."

Kara maintains her glare for another few seconds before relenting. "Fine. I'll help."

Alex pops to her feet, breaking into a smile and gives Kara a peck on the lips.

Kara rolls her eyes when she sees what Alex has brought her. “I suppose I should be grateful he’s not making me go out there in nothing but my cape and heels.”

“Henshaw may acknowledge we need your help but doesn’t want you forgetting you’re also a female, Kara.”

“Like I could ever do that,” she mutters under her breath as she tugs on her strappy stilettos.

“Looking good, Supercunt,” Henshaw says without greeting when the pair enter the ops center.

Kara had opened her mouth to greet him, but his words change what she is about to say. “Excuse me, but what did you just call me?”

“If you are going to be a superheroine, you need a codename. Supercunt seems appropriate.”

Kara opens her mouth to give that the appropriate reply, but Alex settles her hand on her shoulder, so she subsides, though not without a look.

"What do we know about this Vartox?”

It turns out Vartox had earned his cell in Fort Rozz, an ex-soldier turned mercenary working for the kind of people that hired people that took jobs that got people life sentences in Fort Rozz.

Vartox has routed the thoroughly unprepared NCPD, trashing vehicles, power lines, and street lights, anything that would make noise or mess.

Vartox turns away from the police trying to corral him, letting his atomic ax hang loosely from one hand as she alights in the center of the street.

“Ah, the Kryptonian. I was starting to wonder if there was anything I could do to draw you out.”

Supercunt frowns, folding her arms under her mostly-bare breasts. “This is all to draw me out?” she asks, gesturing to the destruction. “Why?”

“While you don’t seem to recognize me, I’m perfectly aware of who you are, Kara Zor-El, daughter of Alura Zor-El. Your mother sentenced me to the Phantom Zone, and since I can’t have my revenge on her I’ll take it out on her daughter!”

Vartox doesn’t wait for her to reply, launching himself into the air with a roar, his ax in two hands.

Vartox is a crafty opponent, manipulating his weapon easily, cutting sweeping arcs through the air like others might swing a golf club. It isn’t until Alex’s brainstorm about overheating the fusion cell of his ax that she manages to get the upper hand. 

Weapon destroyed, Vartox is left reeling, vulnerable and the DEO agents rush in when she pins him, slapping heavy-duty binders on him and throwing him in the back of a reinforced box truck.

Kara lifts her eyes to the sky, briefly considers running but Henshaw knows who she is. The DEO has already captured her once, she doesn't really want to think what they'd do to her if they have to hunt her down again.

"You didn't run. I'm impressed," Henshaw says when she follows Alex back to the base.

"You got me once, you could probably do it again. Especially with Alex on the inside track."

"You're right, we could."

"Director," Alex says, stepping forward. "Supercunt proved she can be a valuable asset in the field. I was thinking-"

"I know what you are thinking, Agent Danvers. And as much as I hate to admit it, we wouldn't have been able to take Vartox down so easily without her. So, here's what's going to happen. Inmate 3176, you will be put on the DEO's roster as an asset, not an agent, but a tool that will be used to enforce our mandate. You will be allowed to resume your life as Kara Danvers on a limited basis. That means you will be allowed to go to work at CatCo during the day, but you will return here to resume your imprisonment at night."

"What if I was willing to assume responsibility for her? We were already living together, so we just make it official with the Department.”

"Maybe at some point, once she's proven herself trustworthy, but not yet."

"It's fine, Alex," Kara says, resigned. "I'll take what I can get."

"It's not though," Alex disagrees. "It was my job to protect you, and I failed. You did what… You did what you did to save my life and you suffered for it. All you’ve wanted to do is help people and you’ve been…”

“Go on, Agent,” Henshaw says, impassive.

Alex takes a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. “The DEO has treated you unfairly. You don’t deserve to be here and to prove it, I'll live under the same restrictions as you." She looks Kara in the eyes as she says the words, running her hand down Kara's arm and twining their fingers together, then shifts her gaze to give the Director a defiant look.

"If you want," Henshaw says dismissively. "But I'll be revoking your security codes if you do. You want to be a prisoner, you'll be a prisoner under the same sentencing as Inmate 3176." Alex reaches down and unhooks her ID card from her belt, handing it over without hesitation.

"Very well," Henshaw says as he accepts the card. "Alexandra Danvers, you are hereby stripped of your authority and title as Agent of the Department of Extranormal Operations and are remanded into DEO custody.” Henshaw looks behind them and makes a come-hither gesture at the two soldiers standing by the door. “Agents, book the new inmate and see them to their cell.”

The two agents approach, holding out handcuffs. Alex looks over to Kara, then offers her wrists. Kara’s left to watch as she’s booked; fingerprints and face scanned, everything on her, clothes, sidearm and wallet confiscated and vacuum sealed. The last thing was a blue armband that identified her as Inmate 3178. “Just don’t lose those,” Alex admonishes.

She intercepts the slap that Agent Cameron swings at her, which makes him scowl. “Let go of my hand, inmate.”

She does after a moment, and he strikes her with the full of his hand with the opposite one. He steps in, one hand landing full on her bare breast. “You are not a person anymore, inmate. You are meat, nothing more. Now time to see your new home.”

"You didn't have to do that," Kara says when they are deposited in the cell. She sits on the bed, gripping the edge, staring at her toes.

"I really did," Alex says, squatting at her feet "Henshaw may be a xenophobic asshole but he respects loyalty and determination. He'll see you don't deserve to be here eventually and this was the best way I could think of to show you I didn't mean what I said. Kara, I love you."

"You're in love with my tongue," Kara spits sarcastically.

"I won't deny your tongue is out of this world," Alex replies with a smirk as she takes Kara's hands in hers. "But I am one hundred percent, homosexually, romantically in love with you.” She thinks for a moment. “Didn't you ever wonder why I never brought anyone home?"

"I just assumed Eliza and Jeremiah wouldn't let you."

Alex shakes her head. "They never had to because I fell in love with you the moment I met you."

"You're saying you've secretly been in love with me for thirteen years and you never said anything," Kara asks dubiously.

"I've told you I love you every day we've been together."

"You let me believe you just loved me because you had to. Why haven't you said anything?"

"Because it was embarrassing at first. Girls are supposed to be sluts, we're supposed to fall in love with whoever happens to be inside us at the moment and forget them when the next person fucks you. You're not supposed to dream about spending your life with your teenage crush, no matter how mind-blowing the orgasms are. I tried to fight it at first, but no matter what happened, you were always the bravest, kindest, gentlest most beautiful person in the room. You always fight for what you believe in, even when it costs you everything. Did you never wonder why I always fucked you harder anyone else?"

"I always assumed it was some combination of ensuring I stayed submissive, knowing I could take anything you could dish out and Eliza and Jeremiah telling you to."

"I did it because I was worried that if I didn't obviously and publicly fuck the shit out of you, they'd see how I'd fallen hopelessly head-over-heels IN love with you. I mean, I was supposed to love you because I was in charge of you. I wasn't supposed to dream about you."

"This all very easy to say now," Kara says, still suspicious.

Alex doesn't say anything for a moment, trying to find the words to describe the depth of her emotions, before finally lurching upwards, crashing her lips into Kara's. Alex kisses her desperately, trying to convey everything she is feeling.

"I love you, Kara," Alex says quietly when she drops back, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind the other woman's ear. "I'm done running from it, I'm done denying it. You, Kara Danvers-Zor-El are the only person I want to spend my life with, who I want to grow old with. And I will do anything to prove it."

“I will hold you to that,” Kara replies after a moment of thought. “I don’t appreciate being toyed with.”

“I know, and I will keep apologizing for it until you believe me.”

“You better get used to saying ‘sorry’ then, because you have a lot of making up to do.”

“I do. And I would like to start right now. If you want.”

Kara studies the kneeling brunette for several seconds. “You’re not fucking me, if that was how you were planning on making up your debt.”

“Your wish is my command. You wanna fuck, we’ll fuck. You want my meals, you got them. Anything you want.”

“Fine. Your apology can start with you sleeping on the floor.

* * *

When Alex and Kara are woken up the next morning it is to find Director Henshaw standing at parade rest outside their cell.

"Inmates! On your feet!" he bellows without warning, a squad of DEO SWAT troopers storming into the cell. They bear riot shields and stun batons, faces concealed behind dark-visored helmets. Alex is off the floor in front of the bed, leaping to attention while Kara simply sat up, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed and rubbing her eyes.

She is given perhaps another second before one of the troopers stomps forward into the cell and jams the electric end of his baton into her stomach as hard as he can.

Kara's eyes bug out at the shock, tumbling from the bed and curls into a defensive ball as two more troopers step forward, adding their batons to the assault. Henshaw lets this go on for a full minute before he signals for his men to fall back.

Kara lays on the floor, trembling and stunned. "Inmate 3176, why are you just laying there?" Henshaw barks three seconds later. "I ordered you to get on your feet!" Alex moves to help her but one of the troopers steps forward, brandishing his baton threateningly. "Stay right where you are, Inmate 3178," Henshaw growls.

"Inmate 3176, do you want to be a superhero?”

Kara glares at him. “Is that a rhetorical question? Being a superhero is the entire reason why I’m here.”

“I have spent some time thinking about that. You did good work the other day, helped us with a situation that would’ve been… difficult to hand on our own. So against my better judgment, I am willing to allow you to be a hero on a provisional basis. But I will not allow someone of your destructive capacity to operate unchecked. A novice superhero is a liability in the field. So, while everyone else may know you as Supercunt, you will be an asset of the DEO. And all DEO assets and field operatives are subject to a rigorous physical and psychological evaluation, and you're no exception. I need to know you're in full control of your powers and will follow orders. So far, I'm not impressed."

Kara manages to right herself, breath still short. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting to be woken up at whatever time it is by tasing."

"And that's your problem, Inmate 3176. You have to be ready for anything at any time. Your cellmate, Inmate 3178 had no problem following my order."

"Sorry sir, won't happen again."

"It better not, because if it does, I will personally bring you down here and throw away the key. Understand, you will be trained harder than any other asset or agent at the DEO. You will be pushed to breaking point. But you will come out the other side a heroine like few others. I spent last night working up a training program for you.”

“This is insane,” Kara protests when he shows it to her. “It’s impossible! When am I supposed to sleep?”

Henshaw just taps his finger at the block labeled ‘personal time.’ “That’s… four hours. A day. That’s all I get?”

“Under maximum power sunlamps. You can be blindfolded if necessary.”

"No, this is too much. First of all, my job isn't this rigid. There's plenty of times I've had to stay late or work from home."

"Your job can be worked around. This is not impossible, not for you."

"And how do you know about what's impossible for me?"

Henshaw gives her a condescending smile. "We've been watching you since the moment you landed on Earth. We know your strengths and weaknesses, what you're capable of and what's possible for you. Also, don’t forget you’re not the only Kryptonian around."

Kara glares at Alex and the redhead shrugs. “Just think of the things you’ll be able to do.”

“So where are we starting here today? I don’t suppose I get my ten minutes for breakfast.”

“Nutrition is as important as any other aspect of your training and will be monitored accordingly. But you’ll be taking an evaluation while eating, to see just how much you know, how much you need to learn. Now get dressed and report to the cafeteria.”

“Should I be thanking you?” Kara asks as another helmeted and vested agent passes a bundle into the cell. “I was under the impression prisoners weren’t allowed clothes.”

“Normally that would be true, but you aren’t normal inmates. One of you is a former agent and the other wants to be the first government-sanctioned alien superhero. As… attractive as you both are, allowing other agents unfettered access to your bodies would adversely affect your progress to reinstatement and probation.”

“You like to talk in circles, don’t you?” Kara asks as she pulls the bottom of her costume up into place. Alex is wearing a set of brief, black tights, sleeveless with legs extending halfway down her thighs, like something a strongman would wear. “Why not just say we’re both super hot and your agents don’t have the self-control not to keep us on our backs all day?”

Kara knows the moment the words are out of her mouth they were a bad idea, but she’s hungry, sleep-deprived and forced to share a prison cell with her least favorite person at the moment so her temper is short and brain-mouth filter has holes the size of Jupiter.

Henshaw moves fast, way faster than she thought a man of his size could and backhands her hard enough that her cheek stings.

“You will watch your tone when speaking to a member of this agency, let alone it’s director,” Henshaw says in a tone a hair shy of a snarl. “Now, I have bent the rules to the breaking point for you, let your lover share a cell with you, so you will speak to me in the appropriate manner. Is that understood, inmate?”

Kara knows she should try to keep the heat out of her look, should bow her head and ‘yes sir, no sir’ him to his heart’s content, but she’s run out of fucks to give and meets his glare with one of her own.

“We understand, sir,” Alex replies in her place, taking Kara’s elbow and turning sideways to slip out of their cell.

“Bitch, are you trying to get Henshaw to change his mind about letting you out? Because he absolute will if you piss him off.”

Kara opens her mouth to reply, but snaps it closed, giving Alex a deliberate look.

“You can’t not speak to me ever again, Kara.” Kara arches a brow, pointedly keeping silent. “So in all seriousness, is this how it’s going to be from now on? You not talking to me, giving me angry looks?”

At Kara’s non-response, Alex looks over her shoulder to the two agents escorting them. “Hey, do you think we could get a moment?”

“Keep it moving, inmate,” the agent behind her, Jasper Morgan, growls, giving her a light shove in the shoulder.

Alex purses her lips, squashing the spike of irritation at the rough (though reasonable from their perspective) treatment. “I don’t know what else I can do. I’m sorry.” Alex shoots Kara a sidelong look, but the blonde keeps her expression neutral, eyes fixed forward.

The DEO base is not a huge facility, the minimum security section they were being kept in on the same floor as the cafeteria. The two women and their minders entered the line and accept the trays that are offered.

Their other escort, Jacob Ferrin, sets a tablet on the table in front of Kara when they sit, a dialog box asking whether to “begin test?”

The food is the same the rest of the cafeteria is eating surprisingly, heaping helpings of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast for Kara, more reasonable portions for Alex.

They aren’t left to their meal long, an Asian agent approaching.

“Shit,” Alex mutters under her breath. “Kara, don’t do anything…headstrong,” she whispers.

“Agent Chen,” Alex greets with a smile as she pivots on her little stool. “Good morning. Can I-”

Alex cuts herself off when he settles his hand on the back of her head, letting her eyes droop a bit as she begins to suck him off.

“Hey, Supercunt, that’s your name right?” Chen asked, reaching over to stroke her head.

“That is the codename I’ve been assigned, sir,” Kara replies, barely looking up.

“Cool, hey, let me see a piece of your toast.”

Alex squeezes her eyes shut, redoubling her efforts to get him off, but her effort is for naught when he pulls her off his dick and twists his hips a bit to the side and catches most of his come with the toast, the bit that overshoots landing on her scrambled eggs.

“Toast by itself is so bland you know? I thought I’d help you out and add a little flavor.”

Alex shoots Kara a heavy look, mouthing the words ‘eat it,’ because everything is a test today. Kara only hesitates a split second before she takes a bite. Kara offers a painfully fake smile and Alex can practically see the blonde bite back the first acid words that come to mind. “Thanks, you’re right, really does add a special something.”

Chen offers a much more genuine smirk, giving a pleased little hum when Kara leans forward and gives the underside of his cock a lick, gathering the wetness that that remained before putting his dick away. “You know, some of us were wondering just how much… training you’d need before the Director clears you for field ops.”

“And what do you think?” Kara asks, pasting what she hopes is a guileless expression on her face.

“I think either Kryptonians are a lot more like humans than anyone realizes yet or you’ve been here a lot longer than we know.”

“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment. All I’ve ever wanted to do is help. I’m glad I’ll get the chance to do that now.”

“Yes, you have been quite helpful since you came to stay at the DEO.”

“I’m glad you think so. But if there’s nothing else I can help with, the Director wants me to finish this test by the time I’m finished eating.”

“Then you better get to it. The Director is not one to accept excuses, but I’m sure you know that.” Chen gives them a satisfied nod, fixed his shirt and strides off.

“That was-”

“Let’s get one thing straight: I did and am going to do what I have to keep my probation.” Kara has her eyes locked on the tablet, one hand tapping on and flicking the screen while she uses the other to eat. “I didn’t do it because you told me to or for you, or any other reason connected to you. Now, I’m trying to focus here, so let’s just eat in silence.”

Kara can feel the frown Alex burns into the side of her head but Alex’s feelings are the last thing she’s thinking about. There is no indication of how many questions there are, just endless questions from every branch of science from physics to biology to geology to history, in no particular order. She wasn’t a subject expert on anything really, just what had been considered base education on Krypton so she only scored a sixty-five percent on her evaluation by the time she finished her breakfast.

Director Henshaw is waiting by the end of the cafeteria line with the dirty trays and Kara hands the tablet over without a word.

“So?” the blonde asks as he flicks through her results.

“About what I expected. Firm grasp on the maths, and the math-based sciences, little weaker on biology and the Earth-based disciplines.”

“And what does that mean for me?”

“It means you have slightly less work to do that you might’ve had otherwise. Inmate 3176 will start you on your combat instruction while your academic lessons are formulated. Let me know how she does.”

Alex leads Kara to an octagonal room with a raised platform approximately three quarters the diameter. “So what are we really doing here?” Kara asks as the door shuts behind them.

“Exactly what the Director said, teaching you to fight.”

“Sure you are. I mean, no offense Alex, but I’m like, a thousand times stronger than you. I… I am angry at you, really angry, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Probably something closer to a hundred thousand if your strength is anything close to your cousin’s, but I really wouldn’t worry too much about that.” Alex presses her hand to a pad set into the wall by the door. The aperture snaps shut as the walls take on what is becoming an all-too-familiar shade of green.

“Alex-” Kara starts to ask.

Alex doesn’t wait for the blonde to finish her question, grabbing a hand and throwing her bodily up to the raised platform.

“The Director had this room converted for your use when he decided to let you join the DEO. There are Kryptonite emitters built into the walls, set to eighteen percent at the moment. Enough to weaken you, bring your abilities down to a human level, but not strong enough to permanently harm you.”

Kara pushes herself up into a sitting position, grimacing at the full-body pins-and-needles sensation.

“Bring me down to a human level? Why? I only just learned about Kryptonite, only the DEO knows it can hurt me.”

“You really think that?” Alex asks with an arched brow. “Kryptonite is not a new thing, it didn’t just start appearing yesterday. Its existence is not common knowledge, true, but there’s enough of it in the wild that you will encounter it again.”

Alex brings up her hands, giving Kara a come-hither gesture.

She has long since arrived at the opinion that humanity was kind of shit, for a myriad of reasons not the least of which was how they oppress their females but Alex had been the one person who had always been on her side. Yet here she is, locked in a room filled with Kryptonite, and Alex is just throwing her around.

Kara gets to her feet and crouches, flexing, intending to rush the other woman with a burst of speed and end the fight with one blow.

The Kryptonite emitters mean she doesn’t close the distance in nearly the time she anticipates and Alex takes the punch she throws and uses it to throw her to the ground.

“Fort Rozz had almost a thousand prisoners, all of them aliens, most of them with superhuman abilities. Abilities that they have spent years mastering, if not a lifetime. Again.”

Kara scowls, pushing herself to her feet, striking again, throwing all her fury into her attack.

Alex deflects her punch, turning her so that her back is to the human and shoves her hard, a foot bringing her back down again. “You have strength, but no technique. Some of the prisoners were soldiers, expert warriors. Assassins, spies and saboteurs, so you must be too. Again.”

Kara jumps this time, hoping that her falling momentum would be enough. It isn’t. Alex rolls forward, under and behind her, sweeping her feet the moment they touch ground.

“I spent twelve hours a day for the first five months of my time here training, learning, before I was allowed out into the field. You don’t have five months. Again.”

“I beat Vartox-”

“You got lucky with Vartox,” Alex corrects. “He was a brute, a blunt instrument with an overreliance on his weapon. He was a one-trick pony and he almost killed you.”

“My cousin did just fine when he was starting out.”

“You think so? Do you know how many fights he lost in his first year? How many people died due to collateral damage because he didn’t know how to measure his strength? Let me give you a hint, it’s in the triple digits. You want to be as good as your cousin? Fine. I want you to be better. He may be a legend now, but he’s no role model to emulate.”

“My cousin has saved the world almost a dozen times!” Kara protests.

“True,” Alex agrees placidly. “And some of those near-misses were undoubtedly unavoidable. But some weren’t. How many members of his rogue’s gallery continually threaten Metropolis because he can’t figure out their weakness?”

“No hero beats every villain on their first try,” Kara complained.

“And for regular heroes, that’s fine. Batman, the Titans, the Star City crew, hell even Wonder Woman and the Green Lanterns, they have limits. You're a Kryptonian, Kara. You don't, not like they do. Intellect, speed, strength, durability, flight, heat vision, x-ray vision, superbreath, super senses, super reflexes, healing… you have a freaking grab bag of top-tier powers. If you let us, if you really try, devote yourself to your training, you won't just be another powerful super hero, you'll be THE Superhero, the one everyone looks up to, aspires to be. You can be Earth's Mightiest Defender."

Kara frowns, her ire dimmed by her sister's earnestness. "Alex…"

"I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna suck royally. You are going to get your ass kicked from here to kingdom come. I wouldn't expect to have much of a personal life for a while, but when you're done, when Director Henshaw says you've finished, people will be asking ‘Superman, who’s that?’"

"I think you're overestimating my capabilities. I mean, Kal's been here for decades. He's been Superman for most of that time. If he can't be a perfect hero, why should I?"

"Because while he has experience, sure, he doesn't have training, not like you will. He doesn't have a team, an organization behind him, like you will. He doesn't think tactically like a soldier, like you will. And most importantly, he doesn't have me."

Kara rolls her eyes at Alex's shit-eating grin. "And what's so special about you?"

"Me? I'll be the one riding your ass, figuratively and literally, whenever you screw up. I'll be the one pushing you to perfection until you achieve it."

Kara allows herself a single second more of indecision before she nods.

And Alex is right, one hundred percent, training sucks. Alex spends the next four hours thrashing her while under the effect of Kryptonite, punching, kicking, twisting, yanking and throwing her around like a rag doll.

She is allowed a brief respite for lunch (which was surprisingly hearty, two large flank steaks, a double helping of mixed veggies, four whole potatoes, two servings of spaghetti, two servings of fettuccine, and a serving each of white rice, brown rice, and baked beans,) and then it is down to Sublevel Two where she is poked, prodded and pushed until she is swaying on her feet. Alex was almost dead-on when she said Kara is a hundred thousand times as strong as her, her freeze breath a single degree short of absolute zero and her heat vision hot enough to liquefy steel in seconds.

Dinner is a double portion of five-layer lasagna, fried greens, coleslaw, and two baked potatoes. 

She had thought she had been done with paper tests when she left college, but the Director insists on testing her math and science knowledge as well as her critical thinking, making sure she knew how to catch a train or plane without crumpling or cracking it in half. The biology of common alien criminals so she knew whether to use her superbreath or heat vision on them and how hard she needed to punch something to put it down. The freezing points and melting points of common materials, strengths and weaknesses. Whether something could just be lasered back together or whether it would need temporary reinforcement until true repairs could be effected.

She had never had cause to doubt her eidetic memory before, but more than one question had her second-guessing herself.

“And that’s why your here, where you can’t hurt anyone," Henshaw said to her when she made the mistake of expressing that thought to him hours later. "A leader must never hesitate! When you make a decision, you must commit to it fully unless ordered otherwise by a superior officer.” And then he proceeded to go over her test, making sure he picked out one thing done wrong in each solution, or better options available.

“So your saying I must be contemplative and quick-thinking," Kara says sourly. "I must be decisive yet be willing to divert course at an order. I must be one thing but also its opposite.”

“Exactly, you must be perfect. And you can be. You have one of the best brains in the galaxy, use it! You’re a yellow sun El Kryptonian! You can do everything.”

Kara collapses forward into the curve of her arms. “Can we be done for the day? I just need some time. Everything hurts.”

“Fine. But I expect you to spend your time under the lamps. Your recovery is just as important as your exertion. I can have a sleep aid administered if you need.”

“No, I think I’ll be plenty tired enough.”

Lying down on the sunbed is one of the most glorious feelings she’d had in years. It is like swimming in pure energy, a return to her gestation pod.

“Goddamn,” Alex whispers. “Out like,” she snaps her fingers, “a light, shit. That’s ridiculous,” she continues as a small laugh brushes the edge of her control. “Before her head hit the pillow, Jesus.”

Hank jerks his head and she followed him out. “Dr. Hamilton says she needs you on Sub Two. Looks like you get the chance to play lab assistant for the rest of the day.”

The DEO’s Science Division is small but well-funded. There is little chance of Amelia actually needing another set of hands, but she appreciates the ask and the Director’s yes. It keeps her off something more demeaning, far beneath her training.

“Tell me what we’re working on,” Alex says as she steps into the Lexan cube the DEO’s chief scientist is working in.

“Ideally, something that will help us deal with any other bulletproof Fort Rozz escapees.” Hamilton shoots her a sidelong look. “And I see the rumors are true.”

“It’s complicated,” Alex says after a brief pause.

“Doesn’t seem that complicated, though it’s quite a bit farther than I’d go to get laid.”

“Who says this is my choice?”

Amelia turned around to lean against the table and gave her a look. “You went from the top agent to incarcerated in the high-security wing. With a roommate. Which is explicitly forbidden, so I’m gonna call bullshit on that. I’m going say you know her in her civilian identity, hell, I think there’s a good chance that you’re in love with her. But you had to turn her in, and now you’re trying to get back on her good side.”

“That’s-”

“Hey, I get it, all the guys tell me she fucks like a porn star. She sure as hell looks like she’s got the body for it.”

“Yeah, they’re not lying. The yellow sun has done her no harm in that respect.” Alex glances at the table and what’s on it. “Is that-”

“About sixty percent of Vartox’s ax? Yep.” Dr. Hamilton turns back around, letting her change the subject.

“I didn’t think we recovered anything near that much of his weapon.”

“Supercunt… Is that what she’s really going by?”

“Not her choice, trust me.”

“Well, Supercunt did a number on his ax, true, but between us and the NCPD CSIs, we got everything that wasn’t vaporized.”

“So have you been able to figure out what it’s made from?”

“I’m calling it Vartoxium for the moment. It’s an alloy of at least four different materials, none of which are on the periodic table.”

Alex turned and shrugs into a lab coat that was hanging on a nearby rack. “Well, the first step should be in identifying those four materials then. Shall we get to it?”


	6. Chapter 6

Kara’s second day as an official DEO asset begins much the same way her first did, which is to say with men yelling at her well before the sun rises. Her breakfast is as hearty as yesterday’s meals had been, eggs, waffles, sausage and cereal (and she manages to rush through it quickly enough that she avoids a repeat of Agent Chen’s… seasoning.)

Her two hours of combat instruction are almost as miserable as yesterdays though. She follows her brunette cellmate to the training room and frowns when Alex doesn’t turn on the Kryptonite emitters, instead pulling a small tablet off the wall. There’s some kind of humanoid dummy in the middle of the dais, though made of highly-polished steel or something similar instead of padding like the ones she’s seen on TV and in movies. Alex slips one hand into the stretchy loop on the back of the tablet and taps the screen a couple of times. The metal dummy doesn’t move, but its eyes light up, a pair of glowing red photoreceptors each about as big as her thumb.

“What’s this?” Kara asks though she has a more-than-sneaking-suspicion of what it is.

“This, Kara, is the thing that you are going to be fighting from now on. Training you while under the influence of the Kryptonite emitters might be cathartic, and I hope that it showed you exactly how much you have to learn, but it’s not efficient. There will be times where you will have to fight while at less than full power, but most of the time you will have access to your complete array of abilities and as such, should train with them. Obviously, there’s nobody here at the DEO that can go toe-to-toe with you while at your regular power level, so you have Whoopass here.”

“You call it that because it’s gonna whoop my ass?” Kara asks, unamused.

“Exactly. It’s already been programmed with every standardized martial art on Earth as well as all the footage and analysis we could collect for every fight your cousin has been in.”

“You want me to fight this fully-trained murderbot when I’ve only had a couple hours of training myself?”

Alex nods. “Pretty much. Don’t worry, it’s not gonna try to kill you right off the bat though. Whoopass: engage Training Protocol One-Alpha.”

Kara tenses, bringing up her fists because she doesn’t trust anything designed by the DEO, regardless of what Alex says. Her caution is unwarranted for the moment, as the robot simply steps out of the mechanical rigidity it had been resting in, assuming a stance that is slightly more natural. Its voice is decidedly unnatural, however, speaking in a droning, nasal, monotone.

“Statement: Inmate 3176, ready yourself for combat,” it states and starts walking towards her.

Kara shoots a glance at Alex, but the brunette gestures to Whoopass. She refocuses her attention back on the shiny droid just in time to blink at the metal fist that crashes into the side of her head. Her vision is filled with stars for a moment, then she’s pushing herself up, working her jaw. “Ow. What in the world was that?” Kara demands.

“Statement: rule number one of combat: do not take your eyes off your opponent,” Whoopass intones.

Kara glares up at the machine. It stands motionless, making no move to help her up or strike her again. Kara shoots a quick glare at Alex, then pushes herself to her feet. She slips into the ready stance Alex showed her yesterday, feet shoulder-width apart, body in line with Whoopass, left arm raised to her shoulder, right down by her beltline.

“Statement: very good, Inmate 3176. Allow me to correct your stance.” Kara tenses as it approaches her in its robotic, jerky-stompy stride. Whoopass doesn’t attack her though, shifting her arms and feet until it is satisfied.

“Statement: good, Inmate 3176. Now strike me.” She grins. She’s not a vindictive person, she doesn’t normally find joy in breaking or damaging things, but Whoopass is a firm exception to that rule. She’s going to enjoy putting her fist through what passes for its brain. She punches with her right hand, confident that she is about to reduce the whatever-million-dollar machine before her to a pile of scrap. She scowls when she runs out of arm and catches nothing but air. She tries again, stepping forward into her punch, trying to control her breathing when she whiffs again, and a third time.

“Analysis: Inmate 3176: you have violated the second rule of combat and underestimated your opponent. Statement: you assumed because of my stilted movements I would not be able to react to avoid your punches.”

Kara looks over to Alex again. “Don’t look at me,” the human says from where she’s leaning against the wall. “I’m not your teacher today.”

Kara shifts her glare back to Whoopass and decides she’s had enough of this condescending robot. Taking a deep breath, Kara purses her lips and blows as hard as she can. The temperature in the room immediately plummets as the arctic gust wraps around the robot and encases it in a layer of ice. She grins, finally having done something right as she draws her fist back, certain she’s about the shatter the robot.

The ice fails to hold however, her ears picking up an almost inaudible whine before the bot spins its torso, arms windmilling and catching her on the shoulder. She stumbles two steps and throws an arm out behind her, exerting her gravity field to counteract her momentum. The ease of which that Whoopass had broken free of her freeze breath does nothing to quench her ire and she decides she’s done holding back. She’s done entertaining the human that calls herself her sister and she’s done swallowing her pride. She’s done being beaten and abused and assaulted and raped; she’s done pretending she’s not what she is. She’s the last living Kryptonian, heir to a House, a culture, a world that ruled its galaxy for ten thousand years. She is the product of three hundred generations of breeding, genetically engineered to be the perfect being. She is a god and she will show everyone what happens when God gets angry.

Between the couple hours of instruction Alex gave her yesterday and the years of action television and movies Alex made her watch as part of her culturalization, she understands the basics of fighting. Keep your weight centered under your body, don’t overextend punches, don’t try moves you don’t have.

Her eyes flicker red an instant before twin beams of cerulean annihilation leap forward, striking Whoopass square on the chest. Her lasers don’t exactly have the desired effect though, instead of melting through the metal skin and slagging the delicate circuitry underneath, the mirror-finish of the robot’s shell reflects her attack at her, hurling her back into the wall.

“Statement: Inmate 3176: my shell is plated in a highly reflective coat of chrome as a defense for exactly that attack. I would not suggest trying that again.”

“Freaking right,” Kara mutters, rubbing her chest. A week ago, she had never felt real pain, and now her chest is burning with what she is sure would be a pair of spectacular bruises.

Okay, so heat vision and freeze breath are off the table. She still has plenty of other tools at her disposal. Whoopass had intercepted her punch earlier, but she hadn’t really been trying to damage him yet. This time she is pissed off and wants to reduce him to his constituent atoms. Squatting slightly, she draws her right hand back and rushes it with every iota of speed she has.

As fast as she is, Whoopass is apparently faster, catching her wrist, spinning and throwing her into the opposite wall. “Statement: Inmate 3176: please calm down: you have no chance of inflicting permanent damage on me with your current capabilities.”

Kara lets her lips curl into a rictus, rage spiking at the robot’s words. She’s always hated being talked down to and having this dumb robot talking at her like it was better than her… she can’t let that stand. She springs off the concrete wall, prepared for Whoopass’ speed this time as it intercepts her attack again, hand clamping around her wrist and spinning to fling her into the wall again. She’s ready for it though, and grabs its wrist with her free hand, transferring her momentum into it, trying to pull off the move it just tried to pull on her. It works, sort of, as it goes flying through the air, but the machine curls into a ball and manages to get its feet in the right direction so it can bounce off the wall and arc back towards her.

She rolls out of the way of its descending punch, then forces herself scramble backward as Whoopass splays the fingers of the fist it led with and spreads its legs out parallel to the floor, spinning its entire lower half. The move, which is precisely the kind of thing she should have expected from it, catches her off guard and she is thrown onto her back again. Whoopass rights itself smoothly, regaining its feet as Kara rolls to hers. It retreats several steps, keeping just out of reach of the wild haymakers Kara flings at it before bending abruptly at the waist and driving the top of its head into her middle.

Kara’s breath leaves her in a huff, her body curling down around the blow and she’s barely given time to blink before a fist slams into the back of her head and drives her face-first into the concrete floor.

Her head is ringing now but she’s able to keep enough of her wits about her that she’s able to roll to the side and out of the way of the foot that stomps down. She takes the opportunity that’s offered and grabs the appendage with both hands and inverts herself, wrapping her body around the leg and trying to force the robot to bend backward by exerting force with her heels driven into its chest. She’s seen the move used in wrestling and MMA before and hopes that she can snap or twist or bend a motor or something in the machine, but alas, all of the thing’s joints are designed with three-hundred-sixty degrees of motion because while she does force Whoopass’ torso parallel to the floor, it doesn’t seem to inflict any damage.

Quickly shifting her attention away from Whoopass’ torso, she wrenches the foot in her grip as hard as she can before it can do something to dislodge her and _finally _does some damage.

The lower part of the leg gives in to her twisting, the foot shifting about forty-five degrees from normal before Whoopass reaches down and grabs her by the hair. Her eyes widen in shock and she releases Whoopass’ foot reflexively, which is, unfortunately, the exact wrong thing to do because it proceeds to whip her around and slam her into the floor.

The move doesn’t really hurt (her skin apparently harder than concrete) but it does give Whoopass the opportunity to plant a foot on her back and pin her to the ground.

“Statement: you have been bested, Inmate 3176. Query: do you accept your defeat?”

“Never,” Kara growls, rolling over and hoping the move would be enough to knock Whoopass off balance. It doesn’t, Whoopass simply taking a step back, though it does immediately reply by swinging its undamaged foot at her, catching her under her chin and sending her crashing into the wall yet again.

She recovers in a second, managing to twist around and land on her feet. Wiping the corner of her mouth, she sees a trickle of blood from where her teeth cut her lip. She lifts her glare from the smear of blood to where Whoopass is waiting patiently in the middle of the room and suddenly, she finds she just doesn’t care anymore. She wants this thing dead, slagged, reduced to a smoldering heap of burned wiring. Inhaling deeply, she takes an aggressive step forward, unleashing her heat vision with a scream.

The twin lasers bounce off the chrome plating on its head, but the difference in elevation means this time they don’t reflect directly back at her. She’s tangentially aware of her reflected lasers carving wild, shallow trenches in the concrete above her head, but she maintains the assault, pouring everything she has into her attack. Whoopass is forced a step back and it rotates its head in an attempt to limit the damage, but her heat vision burns as hot as the sun and its designers didn’t anticipate it having to withstand sustained exposure to Kryptonian eye-lasers.

Her heat vision finally starts to affect Whoopass, some of the bolts starting to glow and she instantly switches tacks, pushing off the wall behind her and freezing its head with her arctic breath. That causes Whoopass to stutter, stumbling to the side and she at long last lands a solid blow on it.

Whoopass crashes to the ground in a clangor of metal limbs, but her victory is short-lived as the walls start glowing green. “What the…” she starts to say, but the Kryptonite radiation quickly overwhelms her and everything fades to black.

* * *

“Okay. That was not at all terrifying,” Alex says quietly, watching the feed from the last working camera in the training room from the command center. Kara’s currently unconscious, the Director having activated the Kryptonite emitters and raised them to fifty percent, just long enough knock her out.

“Perhaps now you understand why I’ve been so reluctant to employ an asset as volatile as she is. Imagine the fallout if she had lost control like that in the middle of the city,” Henshaw rumbles.

Whoopass, for its part, has regained its feet, though decidedly worse for the wear. Hydraulic fluid leaks from its left knee, there is a sizable dent in the side of its head that has cracked the lens in its right eye and the three-fingered right hand is completely mangled and will likely have to be replaced.

“I’m- I’m gonna go down and wake her up.” Alex doesn’t wait for the Director’s permission, trotting back down the corridor that leads to the training room and presses her hand to the pad.

Whoopass rounds on her as she enters but lowers its arms when it sees who she is. “Statement: Inmate 3178: you incapacitated Inmate 3176 during the middle of her instruction. Query: why did you perform such an action?” Its cracked photoreceptor flickers for a moment before she hears a tiny pop and the lens goes dark.

“She was getting a little too riled up, Whoopass. Didn’t want her to break anything too badly,” she replies, not bothering to correct the robot.

Whoopass takes a moment to process that before it inclines its head, looking down at its damaged knee. “Statement: Inmate 3176 proved herself to be a more capable opponent than initial analysis suggested.”

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone expected her to lose her cool quite like that.”

“Statement: I am not programmed for such emotional analysis.”

“Yeah, I know. Get down to Sublevel Two and get yourself repaired. I’ll deal with Kara.”

Whoopass doesn’t give a verbal response, simply marching out the door. Alex looks in the direction it departed, making a mental note to give whoever is in charge of its programming a stern talking-to the first time she hears it call anyone meatbag.

Squatting down to look at Kara, she tilts her head and considers what to say. It’s not all that shocking that Kara has anger issues, she’s read everything the Fortress of Solitude has on the culture of Kara’s homeworld, Clark bringing sheaves of transcribed material on his weekly visits during their childhood. The distance between the cultures of Krypton and Earth is at least equal to the physical space between their stars and frankly, she’s surprised that the blonde has managed to bottle it up this long.

Finally, she decides there’s nothing more to be gained by thinking about the problem and she rolls Kara onto her back and shakes her shoulder.

Kara winces as she rouses, groaning and putting a hand to the side of her head.

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

“Fuck you,” Kara mumbles, rolling over and away from her and rocks to her knees. Alex can see the tension in her back and keeps her hands to herself even though she wants nothing more than to stroke her hair. “What the hell was that?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Director Henshaw thought you were getting a little too worked up so he uh, turned on the Kryptonite emitters.”

The glare Kara shoots her is entirely deserved and she is incredibly grateful the Director had turned the Kryptonite emitters on himself because she’s had all she can stand of Kara’s hate. Their entire situation is basically Henshaw’s responsibility anyways so he can shoulder some of the burden.

“Where’s Whoopass?” Kara asks, looking around.

“Sent him down to get repaired. You did a number on him.”

“So does this mean training is over for the day?”

Alex nods. “We can get out of here if you want. It’s still early so we have time for a second breakfast if you’re hungry again. How does hot chocolate and waffles sound? My treat?”

“Not hungry,” Kara says simply, rising to her feet. “I just want to get a shower and go to work.” Alex nods, presses her hand to the pad beside the door to unlock it as Kara steps up to it. She looks to Alex and follows the shorter woman to the showers. Their escorts, Agents Jameson and Willoughby today, fall into step behind them without a word.

The combination locker room and shower is as utilitarian as everything else in the bunker: undressed, poured concrete, the floors sloping slightly to the center drain. The lockers themselves are bare steel, small digital keypads keeping the enclosures secure. Alex steps up to one towards the end, punching in a series of numbers. “The day you landed on Earth. I brought some stuff from the apartment here, just in case I was ever able to convince Director Henshaw to let you go.”

Kara gives Alex an inscrutable look, slipping out of her super-bikini and grabbing the bottles of body wash and shampoo. She catches their escorts grinning as they quickly strip themselves, hopping in place to tug off boots and step out of their pants.

The water pressure is surprisingly decent and heats up in just a few seconds. She gets approximately thirty seconds to herself before Jameson steps under the spray behind her, erection pressing into her buttocks and hands coming up to cup her breasts. She lets him nibble at her neck and on her earlobes for a few seconds before she turns in his arms and kisses him. She meant what she said to Alex, she just wants to get out of here and get to CatCo, but she’s not leaving until Agent Jameson is finished with her, so the quickest way to get on with her day is just to get him off.

Humans are in her experience, almost without exception, perpetually randy, horny beings, ready to fuck pretty much on a moment’s notice. On the infrequent occasion that the mere sight of her bare body does not get her current partner in the mood, a few seconds of super-kissing does the trick.

And it does the trick. She feels the pulse of Agent Jameson’s cock throb into her belly and it’s only another second before his hands are sliding down her back and dig into her ass. She helps him out, floating up off her feet and setting them on his shoulders, giving him unencumbered access to her cunt.

He slides in without further urging and the breathy-growly-grunty noise he makes on his exhalation is kinda hot. Jameson takes his time fucking her, long, slow strokes that sound in counterpoint to the machine-gun slap-slap-slap of Willoughby taking Alex from behind. He has the brunette bent fully over, one shoulder braced against the upright of the shower, a hand on the other. Alex has her lip drawn in between her teeth and shoots her a look that does unfortunate things to her insides.

She turns away because she doesn’t want to deal with the things she feels when Alex looks at her like that.

Kara turns to Jameson, lets her eyes go lidded and smiles. “Mmm, you feel really nice,” she murmurs. “Real, real nice. You like it? Fucking Supercunt in her super pussy?”

He doesn’t offer a verbal reply, but he stops slow-stroking her, starts fucking her in earnest, picking up speed until even Alex and Willoughby must be able to hear the_ schlip-schlip-schlip_ping of their mating.

Jameson tilts his head forward suddenly and their mouths are crashing together, teeth knocking. He licks into her mouth and she licks into his and their breath mingles.

He nips at her lip and probes her tonsils and rolls her clit and she finds that she’s rocking her hips almost without thinking about it.

The realization shocks her and she turns her head (away from Alex) and focuses on her pelvic muscles, focuses on massaging his cock in her in the way that no man can hold out against.

She feels his cock twitch and she wraps a hand around the base of his neck, leaning forward, leaning into him so she can breathe in his ear.

“Come for me, come on baby, come in my super pussy.”

His eyes are closed, face buried in her neck, and he gives an especially hard thrust and he’s emptying himself into her. She pats him on the shoulder a couple of seconds later and he lets her down. She tries not to meet his eyes because she’s sure there’s something dangerously close to love in his features.

“Goddamn, the guys weren’t exaggerating at all,” he says once he's gotten his breath back. Kara turns to the temperature controls and turns the ‘hot’ knob all the way to the left, making Jameson skitter out of the suddenly-scalding spray.

Kara glances to her right and sees Alex is on her knees now, Willoughby’s fingers working suds through her hair. “Are you going to be finished up with her any time soon? She’s my ride into work.”

“Yeah… Just… about… done,” he grunts, thrusting into Alex’s mouth.

Kara watches from the corner of her eye as Alex’s eyes roll back into her head and her throat convulses, and Willoughby steps back, cock wilting.

Alex coughs once, twice, then Willoughby helps her to her feet.

Kara's stepping out of the shower, drying off while Alex is still rinsing so she ends up sucking Agent Jameson off while waiting on Alex, then following her to the ground-level garage where she parked her bike.

“How long is the ride to the city?” Kara asks shortly, trying to keep the giddiness out of her voice. She’s been begging Alex to let her ride her bike for ages, and with the Director’s restriction on using her powers while out of costume, Alex has no choice but to let her ride now.

“Half an hour to get to the city, maybe a little less to get to CatCo."

Kara frowns because she thought Alex's Monster would be able to cross the fifty-something miles to the city much quicker than that, especially with her upgrades.

Her unasked question is answered a moment later though when Alex walks past her motorcycle and opens the rear door of a large black SUV. "Not the bike?"

"It's a secret base, Kara. Can't exactly have one of its prisoners know where it is."

Kara rolls her eyes. "Are you forgetting my x-ray vision?"

"No. Try looking in the truck."

Kara does and almost wonders why she's surprised to find that the back part is lined with lead. "The Director had this truck prepared for the possibility that you needed to be transported while conscious." That seems very on-brand for the Director and the DEO so she climbs up into the vehicle. She isn't left with much to do other than twiddle her thumbs for the trip, so she tries to plan out her conversation with Ms. Grant.

She thinks she has something approaching a coherent argument for her continued employment by the time the truck slows to a stop and the locks pop.

Stepping out of the truck, she blinks in confusion, expecting the CatCo building, finding the facade of Noonans instead. "The Director and I are the only ones who know your civilian identity. They're not supposed to know anything about your human identity and dropping you off right in front of your job gives them more information than they need."

"That's unexpectedly considerate, but I'll take it. Are you coming with me?"

Alex shakes her head. "No, I'll be heading back to the base, but we'll be back in the city by five to pick you up whenever you get off."

"Ok. I'll call you when I'm ready to be picked up."

Alex's arms come up as if she's going to pull Kara into a hug but seems to think better of it and just waves instead.

Stepping into Noonan's is a little surreal after the better part of a week's incarceration. The employees all express some level of delight at her return, commiserating when she tells them how she'd been stuck home with bronchitis.

She's just dropped half a dozen donuts off with the guys behind the reception desk when she hears her best friend's voice call out behind her.

“Kara, holy shit, you’re alive!” He rushes up to her throwing his arms around her and swinging her around. “Are you okay? Should you be back at work yet?”

“Hi Winn,” she greets him back, her mouth curving into a smile of her own. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit under the weather.”

“You… under the weather? I didn’t think that someone like… you could get sick,” Winn hisses, lowering his voice.

“It’s complicated,” Kara whispers back. “And a long story. One I promise to tell you, once we can talk privately.”

“Well, I should tell you there’s been… uh… some changes to the top floor. Ms. Grant may have hired another assistant to do your job while you were out.”

“She replaced me?” Kara asks, pulling him into the stairwell.

“That’s not what I said. You’ve been out almost a week and Ms. Grant is the last person to manage her own schedule. And she’s nice.”

Kara looks like she’s about to inquire further, but her eyes go out of focus for a moment. “Crap, Ms. Grant’s here.” She looks up the stairwell. “Want a ride up?”

“No, no, I think I’ll be good on the elevator. See you up there, I guess.”

She beats Ms. Grant to the top floor by maybe ten seconds, which normally would be more than enough time for her but seeing a strange, dusky woman at her desk throws her for a second.

“Whoever you are, Ms. Grant isn’t in yet so you can wait at the other desk,” the dark-haired stranger said without looking up from her computer.

“Actually, you’re at my desk, and Ms. Grant’s gonna be here any second.”

The new girl glances towards the elevator and bounces to her feet when the door dings open. Ms. Grant swans out of the elevator with her usual aplomb, which was to say as if she were on the runway at the height of Fashion Week.

“As I live and breathe, Keira Danvers. I'll assume your presence here today means you're on the mend?”

Kara nods emphatically. “Sorry for having to take the time off, Ms. Grant, but I had-”

“Pneumonia, yes, yes, your sister told me all about it. Seeing as you’re here, I suppose introductions are in order. Assistant One,” Cat says, gesturing to the new girl, “meet Assistant Two. Assistant One, hold all my calls. Assistant Two, with me.”

Kara ducks her head and follows as Cat sweeps into her office, holding the door for her. “Now, Kiera, I would like to know where you’ve really been the last week because I know you haven’t been home with pneumonia, despite what your very attractive girlfriend said.”

“How do you know I didn’t have pneumonia?”

“Because in the entire time that you’ve worked for me you have never once been sick or even late. You would’ve had to have been quite sick, sick enough to warrant a hospital visit and you were not in any hospital in the city. I checked.”

“Ms. Grant, I-I Don’t know what to say. I was at home with Alex. She said-”

“She lied, quite convincingly, but you do not get to where I am without being able to tell when someone is selling you a fiction. Now, can we dispense with this ridiculousness and answer my question?”

“I’m telling the truth, Ms. Grant, I’ve spent the last five days sick in bed. Hand to God.”

“Fine, if you insist. Just tell me one thing, you are completely better, right?”

“I wouldn’t have come in today if I wasn’t. Why are you asking?”

"So if I send you down to Art for layouts, you won't infect anyone else?"

"I wouldn't have come back to work if I was contagious."

"Good. So you won't get my new art director sick when you meet him." Ms. Grant's eyes shift behind her and she sees a large black man approaching, the new girl popping up and falling into his wake when Ms. Grant crooks a finger at her.

“Mr. Olsen, Sabrina, this is my original assistant, Kiera Danvers. Kiera, meet James Olsen, my new art director, and the girl I hired to fill in for you while you were out with pneumonia, Sabrina Smyth.”

“H-hi. Nice to meet both of you.”

“Same here,” Olsen says, holding out a hand for her to shake.

Sabrina casts a critical eye over her when Kara turns to face her, then looked to Ms. Grant. “Well, at least we know how our duties will be split already.”

“I wouldn’t be overly proud of that, Sabrina,” Ms. Grant says. “I hired you because Kiera was out sick, not because she was doing a poor job.”

“So what does that mean for us?”

“It means I simply realized that I had been asking more than what was reasonable of you, Kara. Now with Sabrina to help, perhaps you won’t work yourself to sickness again.”

Kara opens her mouth to say she hadn’t but closes her mouth when she decides that it didn’t really matter. “Thank you, ma’am. I’m sure we’ll work together very well.”

“I hope so because I will have little patience for any kind of bickering or dissension between the two of you. Now, James, where are you on getting a picture of my flying girl?”

“Seeing as I can’t get any pictures until she shows up again, nowhere.”

“I hired you because of your connection to Superman and presumably this girl. So you have two options right now, get me a picture of her, one I can put on the front page of my paper or find another job.”

“I- uh, I might be able to help with that,” Kara says as she half-raises her hand.

“Kiera, you are the best assistant that I’ve ever had, but if you actually know my flying girl, I will have to give you a raise.”

“No, I don’t know her, but my sister might. She was on the plane that she saved, Flight 237.”

“Has she spoken to anyone about that?"

Kara shakes her head. "No, Ms. Grant."

"Then you need to get on the phone right away and talk to your sister. She isn't to speak to anyone until I let her. I am not getting scooped on this.”

“Sure Ms. Grant, right away.”

Kara ducks away, stepping out of the office, suddenly regretting her outburst. Alex is going to be pissed when she tells her that she dragged the brunette into the spotlight.

“Kara! Kara Danvers!” James Olsen’s baritone calls out from behind her. “Hi,” he says shortly, with a wide smile. “I’m James.”

“Hi, yes, Jimmy, I know. You’re friends with my cousin, Clark.”

“Yeah, though he’s the only one that calls me Jimmy. Do you have a moment to talk?”

Kara nods and follows Jimmy-James to the roof.

“Not that I don’t like the view-” (she does, she loves heights, they’re one of her favorite things.)

“Are you alright?” James asks without preamble.

“Me? Yeah, I’m fine. Perfectly healthy. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because I know who you are,” James says.

“Me?” Kara asks, eyes going wide and barely repressing a stutter. “I’m just Cat Grant’s assistant. I’m nobody.”

“A nobody from Krypton, Kara Zor-El. I know Superman is Clark Kent and Kal-El. And I know you're the one that saved the plane last week.”

“I…”

“You don’t need to say anything. Clark got worried when your sister called out sick for you after you caught that plane. I was looking for something new, so he asked me to come out here to make sure you're okay.”

“I-” Kara starts to say. “I’m fine, I promise. I just got, uh, a little entangled with-”

“The DEO?” James interrupts quietly, expression going dark.

Kara just nods. “You know about them?”

“Yeah, I know about them. They’re a good part of the reason why your cousin refuses to work with the government.”

“Oh,” Kara says in a small voice. “They’re helping me out. Training me and stuff.”

“You mean they’re forcing you to work with them. Does Alex have anything to do with your situation?”

“A bit. But she’s not the one who turned me in,” she adds hurriedly when James’ frown turns into a full-blown scowl. “She’s actually been not super awful about it.”

“Are you sure you don’t need help? The DEO tried something similar with Clark when he first came out. Fortunately, he already knew Lois and me and we managed to… convince them into letting him do his own thing. We can do the same for you, I'm sure.”

Kara opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again, reconsidering her first answer. “I think I’m okay. I mean... it’s not fun, I wouldn’t choose to be there if I didn’t have to, but... they are training me. They have this robot I can fight and… it felt kinda good. I mean, it kicked my ass, like, so bad, but I’ve never really been able to cut loose, to not have to hold myself back. I have to treat everything like its made of glass. But I punched it as hard as I could and I barely made a dent in it.”

James’ scowl lessens into something closer to neutral. “If you say so, Kara. But I’m here for good, for you. If there’s anything you need, just let me know.”

Kara nods. “Thank you,” she says feelingly. “I could really use someone who’s here just for me right now.”

“What about Alex? Last I heard you two were pretty happy together.”

Now it is Kara’s turn to frown. “It's complicated. I meant what I said, she's not being as awful as she could be. But she has been lying to me about the whole DEO thing.”

“It hurts when we learn the people closest to us are lying,” James agrees.

“Yeah,” Kara says simply. “It sucks.”

“Well, as I said, I’m here for whatever you need.”

Kara was about to thank him again, but Cat Grant’s utterly unique call for Kiera diverted her attention.

Cat Grant was an exceptionally demanding boss and managed to push even her to her limits, but she had never been so happy for someone to get her name wrong. The other girl (who's name Kara eventually learned was actually Siobhan) was a little snotty and not super friendly, but she did her work without complaint.

Ms. Grant somehow kept her as busy as ever, despite the fact her workload was split with Siobhan and with no regard for the fact that it was her first day back. Ms. Grant kept her busy enough that one o’clock rolled around almost with her noticing. She is writing an email to the head of their print division, Brad Telley, when she looks up and notices two men standing in front of her desk. One of them is holding a truly impressive bouquet, the other an equally significant stack of Chinese from Lao Te Zhu, her favorite Chinese restaurant.

“Hi, are those for Ms. Grant?” Kara asks, rising to her feet.

“No, are you Kara Danvers?” the man with the flowers asks.

“Yeah?”

“Then they’re for you.”

“These too,” the man with the takeout says.

“Do either of you know who they’re from?” Kara asks, though she has a good idea.

“There’s a card,” the flower deliveryman says as he turns away.

“Secret admirer?” Siobhan asks, her voice dripping with disapproval.

“Admirer, yes. Secret, no.” She finds the card poking out between an orchid and petunia and instantly recognizes Alex’s blocky handwriting.

She doesn’t bother opening the card, stuffing it back into the flower blooms and picks the vase up. Her trash can is far too small for the arrangement to fit, so she walks over and dumps the whole thing in the much larger canister by the elevators.

She feels the whole floor watching her walk back to her desk and briefly considers the stack of takeout boxes. “Hungry?” Kara asks Siobhan, offering her a carton of mushu pork.

“No, thank you. I don’t do take-out,” Siobhan replies with distaste.

“I do though,” Winn says, raising his hand from his desk. “I do take-out.” Winn bounces up out of his chair and rushes over to take the box. “Why don’t we go and eat these together?”

Kara hesitates, glancing at Cat where she is sitting through the glass wall, eating the lunch Siobhan brought her before nodding. She hands Winn a couple of boxes and follows him with the rest.

"So where have you really been?" Winn asks once they relocate to the little break room two floors down. "Because I went by your place and you were not there."

"You're right, I sort of got arrested."

"How do you get sort of arrested?" Winn asks, the lo mein hanging from his chopsticks momentarily forgotten.

"There's this government organization called the Department of Extranormal Operations that's the alien FBI, I guess. They're in charge of making sure people don't find out about aliens."

"Oh shit," Winn says quietly. "You got black bagged by the freaking Men In Black."

"Yeah. They're not very nice. But Alex convinced them I could help them with Vartox, the alien guy with the ax, so they let me out on probation or parole or something."

"Wow," he says after a moment. "That's... well, that's something at least. I suppose that means that game night is off?"

The look that comes over Kara's face suggests she might be in physical pain. "Yeah. They let me out during the day, but I gotta go back to my cell at night."

"Man." Winn takes a bite, giving his food a contemplative look. "Is there anything I can do? Call Superman for you? Does he know what's going on?"

"Yeah, he knows. He sent James to investigate, to see what happened to me."

"And what'd you tell him?"

"The truth. I don't want him getting involved."

"Okay, you're gonna have to explain that to me. Don't tell me they've already got you Stockholmed."

"No, it's nothing like that," Kara replies with a vigorous shake of her head. "His relationship with the government is tenuous enough as it is. The DEO knows our identities. They already have me in custody. The DEO doesn't exist, legally, so I can't exactly file an appeal or anything, and a jailbreak would only put us at Number One and Two on the FBI's Most Wanted list." Kara pauses for a moment to take a quick bite of chicken before continuing. "And like I told James, they're not nice, but Director Henshaw is teaching me how to be a superhero. I'm learning how to fight, how to fix things, how to use my powers effectively."

Winn gives her a look that practically screams his disbelief, but he doesn't give it voice. "Any idea how long they'll have you on parole?"

"No, but Director Henshaw is pretty serious about maintaining my secret identity, so I don't think he'll make me stay at the DEO forever. People will notice that Alex and I aren't at... at the loft eventually."

"Do you need me to do anything? Get anything from your place?"

"Alex got some stuff right after I was arrested, but I'll tell you if I do."

"You gotta swear that you will. I wanna help you."

"I can tell you one thing you can do." Kara fishes her keys out of her pocket and pulls one off the ring. "Go over to the loft and make it look like I've been there. Make some trash, mess the bed. Did you leave any of our crimefighting stuff there?"

"No, I got rid of the sketchy stuff a couple hours after you disappeared. I had no idea what happened so I kinda panicked."

"It's fine. You had no idea what happened, so a little panicking is justified."

"I am out like three hundred dollars in gear though. That stings a bit. I guess this means the Superfriends are off?"

"First of all, we're not calling ourselves that, and second, we are definitely, one-hundred percent not off. Director Henshaw said I'm not allowed to use my powers as Kara Danvers, but he didn't confiscate my costume."

"Are you sure? The last thing I want is to get you in trouble, more trouble with the DEO."

"If he didn't want me heroing, he would've taken my costume. He didn't, so he's fine with it." Winn gives her an uncertain look. "Winn, it's fine, trust me. How long will it take you to get set up again?"

"Sooner than you think," Winn says with a grin.


	7. Chapter 7

"What this place?” Kara asks Winn as he stops in front of an unmarked door two floors below their desks.

“Unused office. Guy who it belonged to, Graff Ballard, you remember him? Threw himself off the balcony when his wife filed for divorce? Well now nobody wants the place. So after you disappeared, I repurposed it a bit to look for you.”

The room certainly looked like it hadn’t been used any time recently, a desk with three monitors and a computer tower under it the only objects in the room, though the view over the balcony was impressive. “I may have swiped some spare parts from the repair and replacement stockpile, but you are looking at the most powerful desktop in the building.”

Kara frowns as he drops into the chair and powers the computer up. “Winn, you have to be careful. I don’t want you getting in trouble for stealing computer parts.”

Winn scoffs. “Right, because this is a company where people snitch on their bosses. I’m fine.”

“Whose boss are you?” Kara asks in confusion.

“Uh, everybodys? Or at least all the tech guys.” Winn twirls in his chair when he sees Kara’s surprised look reflected in his monitor. “What did you think my job title is?”

“Computer technician?” Kara replies, the upward lilt at the end of her question matching the flush of her cheeks.

“Okay, so I’m going to try to not be insulted by that, but I run the IT department of the building, FYI.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Winn says, brushing it off with a smirk. His expression sobers with a thought. “Actually, are you wearing your bikini? Or got it with you? I probably should’ve asked that before I brought you down here.”

“Yeah, I got it on. Why?”

“Good,” Winn says with a grin, whirling back around to the monitors. “Because it would be kinda pointless to start crime hunting if you aren’t prepared. I need a minute to get into the emergency services, so why don’t you just start patrolling and I’ll let you know when I get something over the radio?”

* * *

_ “Kara, where are you right now?” _

“About four hundred feet over Locksley Drive. Why?”

Alex makes a strangled little noise and she can hear other voices in the background of the call. _ “Stop everything you’re doing and meet me at the coordinates I’m about to send you.” _

“Ok,” Kara says hesitantly after a moment. “Is everything alright?” she asks even though it’s obvious that something is not alright.

_ “Just meet me at the coordinates,” _Alex says tersely and ends the call. Her phone beeps a moment later and she heads out of the city when she plugs them into her navigation app. Alex arrives at the location thirty minutes later, a few miles outside the city in the desert.

“So what’s going on?”

“Apart from how you spiked the Director’s blood pressure, everything’s just dandy. What are you doing out in costume?”

“Stopping crime?” Kara asks, getting more confused by the moment. “Henshaw didn’t take it away so I figured-”

“That you could go flying around willy-nilly without anything to conceal your identity?”

Kara frowns. “I let my hair down and took off my glasses.”

Alex gives her a look that’s pure irritation. “Glasses and a scrunchy a disguise do not make. And before you mention your cousin, I’m sure half his villains know his identity. Jesus, have you never heard of facial recognition?”

“I’m not wearing a mask. That’s not the kind of hero I want to be.”

“Wasn’t going to suggest it. Stick this on behind your ear.” Alex opens a small round case to show her… well, Kara has no idea what it is. It’s about the size of her thumb, perfectly circular, a little thicker in the middle than at the edges.

“What is it?”

“Just put it on, tap it, and check your selfie cam.”

She does so and gasps in shock when the face that appears on her phone screen is not hers. It’s close, a sharper jaw, narrower nose, blonder hair, more pronounced cheekbones. It’s close enough that she’d call herself related, but not particularly closely. “What is it?”

“It’s a facial distorter, something I made to keep you safe. It changes your appearance, obviously, so that when pictures of you start getting around people won’t put two and two together and figure out who you are.”

“Why didn’t you give this to me yesterday or this morning then?”

“Because it wasn’t ready. I had to program your new face into it and then it took a couple hours to render. I was gonna change your eye color a bit and I’m definitely altering your ears tonight, but it’s good enough for now.”

“My ears?” Kara asks, reaching up to touch the outer edge of the shell. “What’s wrong with my ears?”

“The reason why mugshots include a picture from the side is that the ear is as unique as a fingerprint, some people think it might actually be better for identifying people.”

“Oh. Learn something new every day. I always thought that was just so cops knew what they looked like in profile. Shape of nose and chin and stuff like that.”

“Well, now you know. Just a heads-up, Henshaw’s kinda pissed that you went out heroing without permission, by the way.”

“Yeah. I assumed so when you mentioned his blood pressure. I didn’t think I actually needed express permission to go out as Supercunt.”

“Yeah, that’s the only reason I’m here right now and you didn’t get darted again. I think he underestimated your desire to be a hero, but he stopped freaking out when I convinced him you weren’t deliberately snubbing him.”

“Well, that’s good,” Kara says after a moment. “Is he expecting me to ask before I go out every time?”

“I think he was expecting you to be a little less cavalier this quickly. I know I don't have to tell you that you just got out on probation.”

“You’re right,” Kara says, voice cooling. “You don’t have to remind me.”

Alex looks like she wants to say something, but thinks better of it. "I'm sorry, Kara."

"I know, but being sorry doesn't change anything. I know it’s not one-hundred percent your fault, but you’ve been lying to me for Rao knows how long. You hunt aliens for a living Alex. It’s going to take me some time to get over that.”

“I know I don’t deserve to ask, but…”

“You’re right, you don’t deserve to ask me anything, least of all how long it will take to forgive you.”

Alex can’t conceal the hurt that flashes across her face and Kara has to crush the upswell of sympathy that rises in response. She is not in the wrong here and she won’t let Alex get off just because she feels bad. “Is there anything else? There are people that need me.”

“No,” Alex says after a moment. “No, that's all I needed. Do you know yet when you’ll be ready to be picked up?”

“I’ll let you know when I do,” Kara says curtly, turning and leaping into the air before Alex can say anything else.

She doesn’t really like being cold to Alex like she is, but Alex deserves to be punished and this is honestly as close she can bring herself to what Alex really deserves.

“Winn, you there?”

_ “Always, babe. You got that fire put out?” _

“Yeah, I think they might be able to salvage most of the place. At the least, they’ll probably remember to clean out their grease trap from now on.”

_ “I’d hope so. Did you at least get some free food out of it?” _

“The grill was on fire. It wasn’t really in a state for food prep.”

_ “Duh. I mean after they get the place fixed up.” _

“No, I didn’t ask. I’m not that hungry anyways.”

_ “Shame. Yelp says the place is pretty good.” _

“I don’t do this for free food, Winn.”

_ “You don’t have to do it for free food, but you don’t have to turn it down if it’s offered either.” _

“I’ll consider it. In the meantime, you got anything else for me?”

_ “No, but everyone’s getting back from lunch, so you should too.” _

“Roger that, be there in a minute.”

Kara touches down on the balcony about forty-five seconds later. “Hey-” Winn starts to say, but pulls a face when he swivels in his chair. “Kara?”

“What?” the blonde asks, then remembers. She taps the little button behind her ear and feels the tingle as the facial distorter deactivates. “Alex called to give me this thing the DEO made," she says by way of explanation. "Director Henshaw was gonna give it to me later tonight when Alex was finished programming it, but she rushed out to give it to me because, well, you know.”

“And Henshaw’s cool with all this?”

“Alex says he was expecting me to ask for permission the first time, but he’s not mad that I was heroing specifically.”

“So, we’re in no danger of being kidnapped by your secret government agency?”

“Not at the moment, no, though if the topic were to come up, I probably wouldn’t mention that you’re helping me. Not that you’re not allowed to, but I don’t want you on the DEO’s radar if you’re not already there.”

“Yeah, I feel you. I’d rather they not know about me either, all things being equal.” Winn tilts his head, watching as Kara pulls her clothes on over her Superbikini. “Have you thought about getting some new clothes?”

“What’s wrong with my clothes now?” Kara asks.

“Nothing’s wrong, specifically, but having actual buttons to undo has to be slightly inconvenient.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“You heard of tear-away clothes right?”

Kara scrunches her face up in displeasure. “Like what strippers wear?”

“Not just strippers. Okay, mostly strippers. But you gotta admit, it’d be more convenient than having to worry about popping buttons off your shirts.”

“I’ll think about it,” Kara hedges. “We really should be getting back to our desks though.”

Winn follows her back up to the top floor and she sees Siobhan perched on the edge of her desk with Brad Telley pistoning between her legs.

“Kara, hey, just getting back from lunch?”

“Yeah, give me just a moment to see if Ms. Grant is ready for you?”

She doesn’t really wait for Brad’s assent, slipping into Cat’s fishbowl. “Ms. Grant?”

“Yes, I see Mr. Telley using Sabrina.” Cat slides the plastic bowl in front of her toward Kara. “Take care of this and tell Bret he can come in.”

Kara takes the remains of Cat’s lunch to toss in her trash, passing Cat’s message along as she does so.

“Good timing,” Brad says, sliding out of Siobhan and turning to face her. “You mind?”

Kara doesn’t say anything, simply perching on the edge of Siobhan’s chair, lowering it all the way down and licking him clean. “Great job, as always,” he says, patting her on the head.

Siobhan leans back on her hands and spreads her knees. “It's because you took a long lunch that I had to entertain him, so it's only fair that you clean up his mess."

Brad was one of those guys that almost always finished inside, and always came like he hadn't for a month, so there was a fair-sized trickle of semen leaking from her vagina.

"I have some wipes-"

"God, you really are as blonde as you look," Siobhan grouses, grabbing the back of Kara's head and pulling her face in between her thighs.

Kara scoops the trickle of come and the bit that squeezed out between Siobhan's inner lips. "I have clean panties in the drawer," she says, nodding to Kara's right.

Kara pulls the drawer open and picks up a green thong, sliding it up the noirette's legs. Kara slides back and Siobhan gets up, tugging her skirt back down into place.

"You can go back to your desk now," Siobhan says flatly a moment later and Kara tries not to blush, quickly scooting back and rising to her feet.

She doesn't quite scurry over to her desk but she catches Siobhan's knowing look out of the corner of her eye. Siobhan doesn't say anything thankfully, so Kara just ducks her head and gets back to work.

* * *

“So we’ve figured out what’s going on,” Alex says when Kara steps into the ops center four days later. Ms. Grant is out of town for a couple of days, dealing with a minor staffing scandal at the CatCo Magazine Metropolis branch. That leaves Kara Danvers without much by the way of responsibilities until she returns and that means Director Henshaw has Kara Zor-El pulling full-time duty as Supercunt.

Oddly enough, Supercunt’s increased presence has not deterred the criminal element of the city but rather had the opposite effect, criminals committing crimes that they were practically guaranteed to get caught doing. Muggings, assaults, robberies and car thefts were up almost forty percent over the last three days.

“You’ve been greenlit.”

“I’m sorry… I’m what?” Kara asks, a bewildered expression on her face.

“It means someone’s put out a hit on you,” Director Henshaw explains.

“I have… Are you kidding? Who the hell put a hit out on me? That makes no sense. Haven’t they figured out I’m bulletproof yet?”

“We’ve been talking to the NCPD and it looks like your hit has been okayed by every major criminal organization in the city. And we don’t think they’re actually expecting anyone to kill you, we think they want to make it a public safety issue,” Alex says. 

“They want to turn me into a threat to anyone around me anytime I show up to a crime,” Kara says sourly, crossing her arms under her breasts.

“Correct, as far as we can tell. I don't have to tell you how an active cape is bad for business," Henshaw tells her.

Kara folds her arms across her chest and fixes him with a look. "I'm not hanging up my cape."

Director Henshaw steps off the desk he was leaning on. “I wasn’t going to suggest you do, but you would if I instructed you to. I hope I don’t need to remind you that you are still on criminal probation. I can toss you back in your cell and throw away the key any time I want.”

“Sir,” Alex says carefully, “I’m not sure grounding Supercunt is the best idea here.”

“If I ever reinstate her prison sentence, it won’t be because a criminal wants a member of my command off the street or out of the sky. I decide how this organization is run, and by extension, how it’s resources are deployed.”

“So if you aren’t slapping me in chains, what are you doing?”

“I and the DEO aren't doing anything. You keep on though, business as usual. Go to your other job, keep foiling muggers and carjackers and rescuing cats from trees."

"I'm going to speak to the commissioner. I can't have regular police getting hurt because of me."

"Be my guest. Just so long as you don't reveal anything about this agency."

"Sir, I'd like to accompany her if you don't mind. I can run interference for her and us."

Henshaw nods. "Go ahead. Report back when you're done."

Kara nods, performing a sharp about-face and quick-steps out of the command center. Alex has to trot to keep up, grabbing Kara's elbow when they're out of Henshaw's sight.

"Hey, you okay?"

Kara's expression is tight, brow crinkled and lips pressed into a thin line. "No, Alex, I'm not okay," she replies tersely. "I became a hero because I wanted to make the city safer for people, cops included. Instead, I'm putting them in more danger."

"Well, before you beat yourself up too much, I would point out that getting shot at and dealing with dangerous situations in general is right at the top of the job description for anyone wearing a badge. This is exactly the kind of thing that they signed up for."

"Not for this. Not for being specifically targeted in order to hurt someone else.”

“So what are you gonna do when you get to NCPD HQ? You already said you’re not quitting.”

“I don’t really know. I’ll apologize for getting any of his officers hurt and then ask what I can do to help.”

“And if he asks you to quit?”

Kara turns away, leaving Alex’s question hanging in the air.

"I'm not quitting," she replies firmly. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes, but that."

“Not sure I’d offer anything. Anything sounds good until it’s something crappy.”

“Crappy like what? Not much they can ask of me to begin with.”

“I dunno, staying out of the muggle shit?”

“Muggle shit? What’s that mean?”

“You know, the regular-people crimes. Only get involved in stuff they can’t handle? You willing to do that?”

“Okay, I see your point. I’ll offer whatever I find reasonable. You like that better?”

“That sounds condescending and elitist. I’d stick with ‘what can I do?’ Simple, helpful, doesn’t build up expectations.”

Kara waves a hand at her. “Fine, I get your point. Let them do the talking. Any more advice?”

“Nothing not common sense. Don’t get angry, don’t interrupt, don’t be rude.”

“Helpful. You know anything about the commissioner?”

“Only what everyone else does. Seventy-something, third commissioner in his family. Total cop’s-cop, still a beat cop or detective or whatever at heart. An apolitical straight-shooter and all that jazz.”

“Any idea how he feels about me?”

“No idea. You’re still pretty new so a lot of people are still forming opinions. Could really go either way with the greenlight.”

“So I’ll just have to be extra-nice then. Full-scale charm offensive. Think you could find out what kind of coffee the commissioner drinks?”

Alex just rolls her eyes.

* * *

The Director has finally allowed her to know the bunker's location, so Kara follows Alex from the DEO base, flying low beside the brunette as she opens up the throttle and the blonde grins when she sees that the Monster is significantly faster.

“You’re a dirty, rotten liar,” Kara admonishes when Alex flicks out the kickstand, parking in a slot marked for authorized personnel. “You were pushing two hundred.”

Alex ignores her as she pulls off her helmet, locking it to the side of her bike. She throws her gaze across the little plaza, noting cameras, flora, doors. The NCPD headquarters is a fairly nondescript building, ten stories of glass set entirely apart from other buildings in the vicinity.

“I never claimed you made it slower.”

“A lie of omission is still a lie,” Kara insists. Alex doesn’t reply.

Kara is starting to get used to getting stared at, but the absolute silence that falls over the lobby when she enters sets her on edge. She steps up to the reception desk, a Sergeant Watkins staring along with everyone else. “Hi. I’m here to see the Chief of Police.”

“Do… uh… do you have an appointment?”

Alex leans forward slightly, whipping out her badge. “Alex Danvers, FBI. We don’t need one.”

“Let me call up. I don’t know if he’s even in the building.”

“He is,” Kara says, looking up. “He seems to be in a meeting with his deputies.”

“Then… I’ll have to ask you to wait.”

“I'm pretty sure he’ll want to talk to me,” Kara tells him dryly.

Sergeant Watkins dials by touch and Kara hears it ring twice before a woman’s voice answers. “Hi, Detective. I have Supecunt down here for the Chief.”

_ “What does she want to talk to him about?” _the woman on the other side asks

“I’m here to discuss the hit the underworld put out on me,” Kara replies before he can relay the message

Watkins passes the message back, then nods. ‘Right, so you can head on up. Top floor. Lieutenant Baldwin will be waiting for you.”

Kara flashes him a quick grin, nodding in thanks as she moves to the elevator bank.

The ride up to the tenth floor is quiet, a pretty redhead in a nice pantsuit meeting them when the doors open. “Agent Danvers, Supercunt, I’m Lieutenant Baldwin. The Chief is expecting you.”

Baldwin turns on her heel and leads them to a glass-walled conference room already occupied. Baldwin holds the door open for them and the seven seated figures all turn to look at them.

“Chief Smith, thank you for seeing us today,” Kara greets.

“Thank you for being polite about it,” Smith says calmly from the other end of the room. “We were just discussing our response to your situation.”

Kara nods. “I want to start off by saying I never wanted this to happen and I’m willing to do whatever I can, within reason, to fix it.” Kara ignores the slight face Alex pulls next to her.

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” the Chief says. “Frankly I was hoping you’d have that opinion, but we weren’t going to suggest too drastic.”

“And what if that’s the only way to stop it? For you to do something drastic?” one of the Deputy Commissioners asks, Garrulow according to his nameplate.

“Then the NCPD has fallen low if your solution is to cave to the gangs,” Alex states.

“And who are you?”

“Agent Danvers. FBI. I’m here to tell you that Supercunt has the support of the government behind her. She is here and here to stay.”

“Good to know,” Chief Smith replies smoothly. “And what kind of support can we expect from the feds?”

“Intelligence, mission support, interagency liaising. Our support of Supercunt is tacit, not explicit. Give me a name and you’ll get anything we have on him or her.”

That doesn’t go over particularly well with the men sitting at the table. “So, nothing then,” one of the younger men says.

“That’s enough, Walter. We will be happy to accept any and all help the Bureau is willing to offer.”

“What about you, what are you doing about her situation?” Alex asks.

“We’re treating this like any other case of an officer being threatened. All overtime limits have been lifted and we’re hitting every criminal shot-caller and business front we know of. We are going to put the hurt on every single perp we can put our hands on. It’s just a matter of time until we make it financially infeasible to keep the hit out on you.”

Kara frowns. “Stepping on people’s civil rights is not how I want this solved. We are the good guys.”

“We’re not going to violate anyone’s rights,” the Chief assures her. “Everyone that is arrested will be properly Mirandized and processed.”

“Alright. Tell me what I can do to help.”

The DCs all look to the Chief before he gestures to the man sitting closest to them on the right. “I’m sure SWAT could use your help knocking down some doors.”

“Deputy Chief Henrose,” a forty-something man introduces himself, standing up. “Special Operations. And yes, the Chief is right. I’m sure my guys won’t have a problem having someone to catch bullets when they hit a stash house.”

“Anything I can do to make up for putting them in danger in the first place,” Kara says, accepting the proffered hand.

“Then the best thing you can do is get out there. Unless there’s anything else you need to tell the Board?”

“No, I just came to find out how I can help. Tell me where I need to be and I’ll be there.”

“Do you have a number you can be contacted at?”

Kara opens her mouth to reply, but looks to Alex. “I need a work phone.”

Alex takes a moment to reply. “You’re right. Not sure how we overlooked that.”

“Yeah. Definitely gotta fix that ASAP.”

“In the meantime, I can serve as an intermediary between your ESU officers and Supercunt,” Alex says as she pulls out a business card and slides it across the desk.

“I’ll be sure the unit commanders get this number,” Henrose tells her.

“How many high-risk operations do you have planned for today?”

“At least thirty, with only God-knows how many other situations that could go sideways. There’ll be no shortage of work if you’re serious.”

“I am. I’ll start circling the city, listen for hotspots. Tell Al…gent Danvers where you need me and I’ll be there.”

“Henrose? Garrulow? Pascale? Finlay? Anything to add?” Smith asks. The four men in question each shake their heads.

“Then I’ll be on my way. Mind if I use the roof?”

“Be my guest,” Chief Smith says, giving an expansive wave of his arm.

Her earlier scan of the building had revealed that it had a helipad, so she leaves Alex to coordinate while she takes to the skies. She can hear the rounds racking as an ESU squad stacks up outside a check cashing service four blocks away.

She arrives in about a second and a half, landing just as the man first in line draws back with his battering ram. “Hey, let me help,” Supercunt says, settling a hand on the ram. She waits for the man with the chevrons to nod before she pushes the heavy door open.

The place is empty and the man behind the security window is still, but his heart hammers almost as loudly as those of the armed men in the other room. “Hi, I’m here to talk to the guys in the back room. Are you going to let me through?” She can almost see the thoughts as they pass through his head. “You’re going to jail today. The only question is for how long.”

He hesitates for another second before he presses a button. Supercunt gives him a nod as the lock disengages with a thunk.

There are screens that display the view of the room outside, so the thugs are armed and ready for her when she steps into the room.

"Hi, boys," she says cheerily. "That's an awful lot of money you got there. You mind explaining to my friends outside where you got it?"

The five men exchange a look and start shooting.

"What did you think was going to happen there? You have to know by now I'm bulletproof," she asks when their magazines run empty.

Their expressions tell her all she needs to know but the one with the snake tattoo gives her a verbal answer.

"We were already going to jail, but we couldn't just hand over the money or there'd be uncomfortable consequences."

She frowns, holding the door closed behind her as the SWAT cops try to enter. "Do you know why I am here today?”

“We got unlucky?”

“In a manner of speaking. All the bad-guy bigwigs in the city had a sit-down and put out a hit on me. I’m here to show they can’t scare me off. Now, you’re all going to jail today, but I want you to do me a favor when you get there. When you get to the phones, I want your first call to be to your immediate superiors and tell them I’m gonna be doing this, rounding up all your friends, hitting every money-laundering front, every stash house, every hangout, until they change their minds. And I’m not gonna be taking breaks. I’m gonna be knocking down doors twenty-four-seven until it stops. Can you do that for me?”

“Yeah, fine, we’ll make the call,” Snake-tat agrees.

Her phone rings and she pulls it out of the pocket in her cape. She answers immediately when she sees the name on the caller ID, letting the SWAT officers into the room and speeding outside.

“_ I’m heading down to the 9th Precinct with Henrose to coordinate with Special Operations,” _ Alex says without preamble. _ “Find anyone to help yet?” _

“Helped take down a money-laundering operation fronting as a check-cashing place. About to go back on patrol, unless you got something for me.” 

_ “Yeah, actually. A phone number. Captain Mark Gleeson, he’s about to hit a Red Kings warehouse. They run most of the guns into the city, so they’re expecting heavy resistance.” _

“Yeah, definitely sounds like something that I could help with. Got a location?”

_ "7515 Andreyko Industrial Parkway. Gleeson will be set up a block or two away, shouldn't be too hard for you to find him.” _

“Got it. I’ll call you when I’m done helping him.”

_ “Good. Stay safe. Love you.” _

Kara’s lips part to tell Alex to do the same, that she feels the same, but she bites them back, remembering she is still angry at the other woman. “Talk to you later,” she says instead.

Kara hangs up before Alex can say anything else and takes to the sky. Andreyko Industrial is the main street of the shipping district so she starts flying toward the coast and locates the massing cops in short order.

She lands behind the import shop the police are using and steps into organized chaos. Everyone is in armor, sanitized of any identification beyond that they are law enforcement.

“Captain Gleeson?” Kara asks, stepping up to the table that has blueprints scattered across it.

“Supercunt, DC Henrose said you’d be showing up to help.”

“And here I am. What’s the situation?”

“This is the warehouse we’re going to hit,” Gleeson says, sweeping his hand over the blueprints. “One of the six or so locations the Kings use to stash their inventory. It’s an armory, so it’s heavily guarded, and the guards will most likely be wielding military-grade gear.”

“Might as well be using BB guns for all I care,” Kara notes.

“Yeah, we’ve all read the reports. Which is why you’re gonna go in there and clear it out for us.”

“That’s… a little more sensible than I was expecting.”

“We're dealing with an unknown number of heavily-armed hostiles in close quarters. Nobody here is gonna be volunteering to be first through that particular door. My men and I will position to catch any squirters, but everyone inside is all yours.”

“Well, okay then.” Kara pauses for a second, looking around at the SWAT officers. “How long will it take you to get set up, or whatever?”

“Give us ten minutes, then you can do your thing. Come in through the skylights, shock-and-awe them.”

“Sounds like a plan. Just call out to me when everyone is in place and I’ll ‘do my thing.’”

Kara steps back, leaning against the wall as Captain Gleeson finishes up his briefing, redeploying his team according to the new plan.

The ten minutes pass quickly and Kara floats up over the gangster’s warehouse, crashing down on Gleeson’s signal. The warehouse is open, floor to ceiling, with rows of shelving units filling most of the space. A quick scan with her x-ray vision proves the police’s intelligence is spot-on, forty or so ‘bangers carrying assault rifles, submachine guns, and body armor.

“Red Kings,” Kara says, raising her voice to carry through the whole building. “You have one chance to surrender. The NCPD has the building surrounded so lay down your weapons and walk out now and you will not be harmed. Don’t and you will be apprehended with force.”

There is a moment when the gangsters hesitate, then start shooting. Kara waits until their magazines run empty, tracking the ricochets to make sure they don't set anything off. “You done?”

The three men right in front of her throw down their rifles and dash off, but they are replaced by twice as many goons, and twice that again. Kara sighs and speeds into the group, snatching and breaking their weapons, tossing them into one another.

The whole process takes about fifteen minutes, though she does have to contend with one Red King that tries to skewer her with a forklift, and another that tries to blow her up with an RPG-7.

“Everybody accounted for?” Kara asks Captain Gleeson.

“Yep, and without any casualties on our side. This would’ve gone a hell of a lot worse if you hadn’t been here.”

“It’s sort of my fault you and your men are in danger, so it’s the least I could do.”

Gleeson shakes his head. “You’re doing what you think is right. You’re helping people, making the city safer. It’s not your fault the bad guys want you to stop what you’re doing.”

“That’s something we’ll have to agree to disagree on, but I appreciate the sentiment. If there’s nothing else?”

“Not for the moment, though I imagine it won’t be the last time we see each other today.”

“Probably not. Until then,” she says with a smile and a tossed-off salute.

Kara shoots Alex a text letting her know she is finished with the Red Kings and arcs up into the air, searching for the next emergency.

Being the largest city in the state with just over four million people calling it home, there is never any shortage of people in danger, so she hones in on the nearest sounds of distress, interrupting a car chase, freeing an ambulance from traffic, intervening in and sorting out four car accidents in between playing bullet shield for the police.

One of the many advantages of living under a yellow sun was how she simultaneously doesn’t need to eat as much as she would if she were human and the ability to eat as much as she wants. Up until now, of course. Her body is hyperefficient in how it processes both calories from what she eats and the solar energy she absorbs through the photonucleic effect, but she’s never really exerted herself like this before and between flying around the city, knocking down doors, carrying the ambulance and liberal use of her heat vision means she's probably burned more calories in the last four hours than the rest of her life combined.

The sun is nearing its zenith when she finds herself stopping a robbery on 5th, and a middle-aged man walks up, clearly looking to talk to her. “Hi, Supercunt?”

“Yeah, hey, what do you need?”

“Nothing, really, more something I can do for you. Are you hungry? I’ve been watching the news, watching you helping people all day. Have you had a break yet?”

“A bit and no. Why?”

“Well, my restaurant is just across the street. I can get you something to eat if you're hungry. On the house, of course.”

“I dunno, I can eat a lot of food. I don’t want to hurt your business.”

“You're National City’s hero; whatever damage you do with your appetite I will more than make up with the publicity. You wouldn’t mind taking a few pictures, would you?”

Kara hesitates for a moment, before nodding. “Sure. What kind of food do you serve?”

“Greek and Italian. Do you like lasagna?”

Kara nods. Walking into Mario’s is... odd, everyone sort of freezing in place for a moment when she follows him in. She’s not exactly an unknown anymore, but neither has she really interacted with the general public. So she smiles and gives an expansive wave as she follows the restaurant owner to a booth.

The pictures on the menu do look good and she resists the urge to order everything that appeals to her palate, as it would be impolite to actually put the man out taking him on his offer.

The five-layer meat and veggie lasagna is exactly as tasty as it looks and she grins for the camera when Mario takes a few pictures of her eating for the restaurant's website.

She takes another few bites before she's interrupted again, this time a boy, sixteen or so, holding a pen and paper.

"Hi, I'm Andrew."

"Hi, Andrew. I'm Supercunt. What can I do for you?"

"Can I get a picture with you? And your autograph?"

"Sure, it'd be my pleasure." Andrew's smile is infectious, and Kara smiles easily as well, right until he slides into the seat beside her and slings his arm across her shoulders.

"Everyone's gonna freak out when they see I met you." He pulls out his camera as his arm drops down and pulls her breast free of her top as he snaps his shot.

"You got some balls," Kara says, pulling his hand away and pulling her top back up. "I know better than to ask you to delete that, but don't even think about posting it online."

"Fine. What are you even complaining about? You're called Supercunt. I bet you get groped all the time."

"Yeah, but not by high schoolers."

"What about my autograph?"

Kara pulls the pen and paper over, scrawling the El crest down. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"How about a blowjob?"

Kara snorts. "Ask me again in a few years. Get back to your mom or dad or whoever your with. There are other people who want autographs," Kara says, flicking her gaze up to the group of people that had gathered a respectful distance away. Andrew does so, but not before grabbing her chest with a smirk.

Her phone rings a few minutes later and Kara answers it, holding it between her ear and shoulder. _ "Kara, where are you?" _

"Took a break for lunch. Mario owns his own restaurant and offered me free food in exchange for some pics."

_ " _ You _ gave some random dude titpics in exchange food?" _ Alex asked, her voice rising in surprise.

"No, the kid that got that one got me by surprise. Mario just got some shot of me eating in his restaurant. Why are you calling? Need something in particular?"

_ "Yeah, but I wanted to check in too. You dropped off the NCPD's comms, so I was just making sure nothing had happened." _

"I'm fine, not dead or kidnapped or anything, just stopped for some food. I'm done here though if you got an assignment for me."

_ "I do. Shooting you the address now." _


	8. Chapter 8

_ “I still can’t believe you did this,” _ Alex grouses on the trip in to CatCo.

"I know and I’m really sorry, but Ms. Grant said she was going to fire him if she didn’t get anything on me. It just kinda slipped out,” Kara replies over the radio in her helmet.

_ “I’m just surprised Henshaw didn’t toss us back in our cell, to be honest,” _Alex says a little more quietly.

“Yeah, he’s freakishly quiet for such a big man,” Kara agrees, thinking on how he’d snuck up on them when she told Alex about how she’d volunteered her for an interview.

Alex is on her upgraded Ducati Monster, throttle wide open, racing across the desert as Kara hugs her from behind. They’re about twenty miles out from the city, just a few minutes from the city limits. _ “He’s not just a pretty face,” _ Alex agrees. _ “I hear he was special forces before he joined the DEO.” _

“He seems… intense enough for it,” the blonde replies with a lilt her voice. “He was probably a drill sergeant. Like the guy in Full Metal Jacket. The ‘let me see your warface’ one.”

_ “I could definitely see that,” _ Alex says and Kara can hear the grin in her voice. _ “Switching topics, what should I expect from your boss?” _

“I don’t think it should take too long. I just told her that you might know… well, me. All you really have to say is you were just a lucky, innocent passenger on the plane and don’t know anything else.”

_ “Cat Grant has a reputation as… a dogged interviewer. She’s done a lot of high-profile interviews with some less-than-friendly people. You think she’ll let me off that easily?” _

“I think you can handle it. You’re a great liar after all. You fooled me for years. If you can trick me, you can trick her.” Kara can feel Alex tense in her arms and speaks again before Alex can. “And before you apologize again, that came out a little sharper than I intended.”

_ “If you think so,” _ Alex replies somewhat dubiously.

“I do. It’ll be fine."

* * *

It turns out to be very much not fine.

They get up to the top floor easily enough, Kara signing Alex in at the security desk and catching the elevator up. Alex follows half a step behind as the blonde leads her through the cubicles to her desk. Siobhan is already at hers, perking up a bit when she sees Alex in Kara’s wake.

“Who’s this?” she asks without preamble.

“Alex. Ms. Grant wants to talk to her.”

“I’m not seeing anything on her schedule until eleven. She can come back when she has an appointment.”

“If that is who I think it is, I’ll be seeing her now, Sabrina,” Cat says as she swans out of her elevator and accepts the cup Kara offers as she passes by. Kara meets Alex’s look and leads her into Cat’s glass-walled office.

“So you’re the infamous Alexandra Danvers,” Cat says as she rounds her desk.

“Not quite sure whether I should take that as a compliment or an insult,” Alex says, arching an eyebrow at Kara as she takes one of the chairs on their side of the desk.

“Take it as you will, I was stating a fact. So I’m told you were on Flight 237.”

“I was.”

“And what can you tell me about the girl that caught your plane? This… SC?” Cat asks.

“Only what anyone else on the plane could. Probably less than some others who’ve actually met her.”

“I find that somewhat hard to believe,” Cat says, flipping open the tablet on her desk and playing the queued video. Alex schools her face into careful neutrality as she watches the cell phone video of Kara ripping the plane door off the hinges, kissing, and whisking her away. “Between this and how you turned up with Supercunt when she went to see the Police Commissioner, I’d say you know her pretty well, Special Agent Danvers of the FBI. So, care to try that again?”

“Ms. Grant, I don’t know-”

“Let me stop you right there, Agent. I’m sure you have a perfectly good excuse lined up, but I have videographic proof. I’m not asking for her name, I know that’d be unreasonable, but I would like you to arrange a sit down with her. Video, transcript, photos, the whole nine yards. I’d actually like to thank your sister for taking so long to get you in here, otherwise, I would’ve never had the time to dig all this up.”

“Without admitting to anything, I can tell you that’s not gonna happen.”

“That seems… concrete. Should I take that to mean that she works for you?”

Alex leans back in her chair, giving the blonde across from her a calculating look. “I know who you are, Ms. Grant.”

“I would certainly hope so. You are in my building after all.”

“I mean I’ve done my research. I know the kind of people you cut your teeth interviewing. You don’t become a woman in your position, the Queen of All Media without a ruthless streak a mile wide. You have to be a cut-throat bitch to get where you’re at and the fact is I’m here unofficially. And even if I were here officially, I don’t trust you. You may be a CEO now, but I have a feeling you’re still a reporter at heart and all you care about is getting the scoop.”

“You’re right that I want the scoop, but I also want to help her.”

“What makes you think she needs help?” Kara asks, speaking up for the first time.

“Her name, for starters. Between everything I’ve seen and read about her and how your sister has basically admitted she works for the FBI, I would be very surprised if she decided to call herself SC. She seems like she could use some assistance with rebranding.”

“Whether she needs rebranding is irrelevant. What is relevant is Supercunt is not available to be interviewed, examined, and dissected in a national paper.”

Cat smirks, leaning forward a bit. 

“And there you go again, being quite protective of someone who you claim you don’t know.”

“She’s not available for interview. If there’s nothing else, I think we’re done here,” Alex says, rising from her seat. 

“Agent Danvers,” Cat starts, rising in reply.

“Supercunt is who she is. She has enough on her plate without a shark like you complicating things trying to up your readership numbers. So if you really want to help her, stop trying to claim her.”

“What makes you think I’m trying to claim her?”

“The fact that you ‘shop her in front of your building every time you put her on the front page, but your headlines aren’t exactly subject-neutral either.”

“Okay, so I may have been trying to imply a closer relationship than what we currently share, but so is every other person in the city.”

“I’m not speaking to every other person though. I’m speaking to the one woman who managed to get me in the same room with her. But… you’re less of a shark than some others. So I will pass the offer on. If there comes a time when she decides she needs help, perhaps she’ll reach out.”

Grant’s mouth twists, a hand resting on a cocked hip. “I should let you know I’ve never settled for anything in my life.”

“And you’re telling me this because?”

“Because I will get my interview, one way or another. The only question is whether I go through you to get it.”

“Good luck with that. You may be you, but you don’t get into the FBI by being a wallflower either.”

Cat smirks again. “I doubt you would,” she agrees. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you got.”

Alex eyes Cat for another moment then pivots on her heel and leaves. Cat nods when Kara shoots her a look and the taller blonde trots to catch up to the redhead. “I’m so sorry about that, Alex, I totally didn’t-”

“I know, Kara,” Alex interrupts. “I mean, it’s a little bit your fault that I had to be here at all, but you’re not responsible for the fact that Cat Grant is a top-tier investigator. She did her homework, nothing surprising about that.” They reach the elevators and Alex presses the ‘down’ button. “I’ll let the Director know Grant wants a sit-down, see if he wants to do anything.”

“Do you think he will?”

“Unlikely. Heads of covert government agencies aren’t generally fans of the Fourth Estate.”

The elevator door dings and opens to reveal James Olsen. He shuffles out of the elevator and gives the pair a wide, warm smile and offers Alex a hand. “Hi, James Olson. You’re Alex, Alex Danvers, right?”

“Uh, yeah. Clark’s friend, right?” she replies after only a beat of hesitation.

“Yeah. Clark’s friend,” he says with an odd tone. “What brings you to CatCo today?”

“Oh, I was on the plane Supercunt caught. Ms. Grant wanted to ask me some questions about it.”

“I see. It was nice meeting you. We should get together sometime, get to know each other.”

“Yeah, sounds great,” Alex replies, her smile taking an edge as James bobs their hands one more time before he lets go.

Alex’s smile morphs into a scowl the moment he turns away, shaking out her hand. “Jackass,” she mutters. “Any idea what I did to piss him off?”

“No, he’s really nice! He’s been helping Winn cover for me here when I’m… doing my other thing.”

Alex hums lowly, turning back to Kara. "Well, if he lets you in on the secret, let me know, okay? I'll be back to pick you up after work." Alex leans in to peck her on the cheek and steps into the elevator. Kara matches Alex's goodbye wave and turns to find James.

"That was not very nice," she informs him when she tracks him down at the espresso machine.

James looks around, making sure there's no one in earshot before he speaks. "Maybe not, but she has my friend living in a prison. I think she deserves a bit of a cold shoulder because of that."

"Maybe she does, but that's my decision to make. She had a difficult decision to make and we're both living with the consequences."

"Okay, okay," James says, raising his hands in surrender. "You want me to play nice, I'll be nice. I was just trying to be on your side."

Kara sighs. "I know, and I'm grateful. But... don't judge her on one choice. She's more than that."

"I understand and I'll keep it in mind. Now, unless there's anything else, we should both be getting to our desks." He flashes her another boyish smile and walks off when she nods.

* * *

Kara’s never served in the military or even gone to boarding school so adjusting to life at the desert base takes some doing, but two weeks into her stint as a DEO asset, Kara thinks she’s got a handle everything. Being bottom bitch isn’t fun, but the abuse tapers off after a week when she takes what they hand out without protest.

She’s just woken up from her daily powernap, body tingling slightly from the sunbath when Donovan and Vasquez enter the cube together. “Good, you’re up,” Donovan says. “We have a situation.”

The clock on the nightstand reads 3 a.m. but the DEO never sleeps. “Where’s the Director? He’s usually the one who gives me my jobs,” Kara asks, rising to her feet.

“We’re not sure. He’s not answering his comms,” Vasquez replies. “But we can’t wait for his sign-off.”

“You mean he’s off-base?” Kara was under the impression he lived in his office. She didn’t sleep much, but the Director seemed to sleep less, always at the foot of her sun bed when she woke to give her her morning assignments, in the command center quarterbacking her caped activities, overseeing interrogations or other DEO operations.

“Okay. What’s going on?”

“We got an alarm from Lord Technologies. We need you there two minutes ago.”

“Lord Tech? Not arguing, but since when does the DEO get involved with robberies?”

“Since this is the fourth tech company that’s been robbed in the last two months. Combined with the fact that these robberies have all been committed by one man, with strong evidence of enhancement puts this firmly in our jurisdiction. Danvers is already in the command center and will brief you on the way.”

Kara retrieves her costume and earpiece from the drawer under her bed, Alex’s voice crackling into her ear as she speeds out of the bunker.

_ “Donovan tell you what you’re doing?” _

“Stopping a robbery? Seems there’s some guy going around knocking over tech companies single-handed.”

_ “That’s the short of it. The long is this guy has stolen components from four of the biggest tech companies in the city. He goes right for one or two things, so we figure he’s working for someone else who gave him his shopping list.” _

“So why are we only getting called in now?”

_ “Because we don’t officially exist and the FBI was only recently able to confirm that this guy is extranormal. He has some serious tech behind him because he’s able to thoroughly scramble any video of him. Witnesses claimed he was super-strong, super-fast, and super-durable, but we can’t get involved without concrete proof that a thing actually falls in our jurisdiction.” _

“Do we have any idea what he’s stolen?”

_ “Not a clue. Everything he’s gotten is prototype, proprietary, trade-secret IP stuff. Nobody’s telling us anything.” _

Kara rolls her eyes. “That’s annoying. Don’t these people realize we have almost no chance of getting their stuff back if we don’t know what we’re looking for?”

_ “They’ve apparently decided they’d rather dodge the bad publicity and any news of what they might be working on than increase their chances of getting their property back.” _

“Can you at least tell me who’s been robbed?”

_ “Kord Industries, Mercury Labs, AmerTek Industries and Phoenix Industries.” _

“Crap. So he could be building literally anything with stuff from those companies.”

_ “Pretty much,” _ Vasquez agrees. _ “Which is why it’s so important that you stop this guy before he makes off with whatever he’s after this time.” _

Kara thins her lips, glaring a bit as she pushes herself a little bit faster. “Okay, I’m here,” Kara reports as she lands in the courtyard outside the building. “Any idea where the thief is? Lord lined his whole building with lead.”

_ “That fits. He’s known to be a little paranoid. But to answer your question, I’d say up. He keeps all his data on servers on the underground levels but his labs are at the top of the building. See any lights, anything to indicate where he is?” _

“It’s all dark. I’ll just have to play it by ear. What floor do the research levels start at?”

_ “Twenty-five. I’ll see if we can’t get into the building’s security systems and give you some better intel,” _ Vasquez tells her.

The lobby doors aren’t locked and she looks up once she’s inside. “Well, there’s no particular rush. Only the outside of the building is lined with lead.”

_ “You got eyes on the thief?” _

“Yeah. Thirtieth floor. Still looking for whatever he wants.” She hurries to a stairwell and zooms up through the center, quickly zagging her way through the labs until she gets to the one the thief is in. The floor is littered with bodies, security personnel with mangled limbs, caved-in chests, and reverse-facing heads.

He’s moving carefully, going through some computer-controlled process to release a canister filled with nothing Kara can detect. “Excuse me, sir, could I see your ID, please? I don't believe you're authorized to be on this level.”

The thief is large, larger than her by at least a head she sees when he stands up and faces her. She has to squint and blink once to make sure she’s seeing what she’s seeing because he’s wearing the blackest black she’s ever seen, black enough that the ridges of his armor are barely detectable, even to her perception. And it is armor, that much is clear, his form encased in flat planes with hard edges, save for the loose hood that cloaks his head.

She’s caught by surprise when the disturbingly deep figure leaps the twenty feet between them in a single, speedy bound and punches her. He’s fast, far faster than a human and strong too, staggering her back three steps when she blocks. “Okay, I take back my suspicion from before. This guy is definitely our jurisdiction.” She grunts as the figure continues to pound at her, knocking her through two walls.

She dodges the last punch, spinning to his outside and swings at his face. Her attack does little damage but does confirm that she is dealing with a solid being, despite his appearance.

He takes the hit in stride, rolling with the blow. He doesn’t grunt or show any sign that it hurt him but Kara doesn’t take that to mean anything yet. The thief is not only fast and strong, but skilled as well. He matches her strike for strike, easily holding her off, warding her punches, ducking, dodging, and blocking her kicks.

“Guys, this guy has training,” she growls, a little huff pulled from her as her opponent crouches under her roundhouse and drives his fist hard into her gut. The one blow she landed seems to be a fluke because she can’t land another blow on him. She’s no expert martial artist yet, but she’s not completely green either, but it quickly becomes quite frustrating how he manages to strike her twice for every attack she attempts.

The Director has made judicious use of her powers one of the primary pillars of her training, when and how to use her abilities, and normally her freeze breath and heat vision are strictly off the table, but her kung fu is only getting her punched in the face.

Laying on a burst of speed, she purses her lips and blows, circling him and wrapping him in an arctic gust, anchoring his feet to the floor. That slows him down for a moment, long enough for Kara to land a solid blow under his ribs. His breath is forced out in a hard whuff, curling over and Kara strikes him on the back of the head. She hits him hard enough that his head bounces twice, hard enough to put a crack in the floor.

Kara follows him down, pressing a knee between his shoulders and wrenching an arm behind his back. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Kara demands as she grabs the back of the hood. His other arm, which had been pinned under his body comes out as he rolls to one side and smashes his elbow into her temple. Kara reels back, stunned just long enough for him to get out from under her and push her off him.

She blocks his leg-sweep with her shin and he strikes hard enough she knows she’s gonna bruise. Kara throws herself back on top of him and they wrestle on the floor for a moment, before the figure in black gets a knee between them and launches her into the ceiling.

_ “Back up’s four minutes out, Supercunt,” _ Donovan says over her earbud.

“Yeah, not sure I can last that long. This guy is really- uff- good.” Her point was emphasized by how he met her falling body with his fist, eyes bugging out as her form folds over it. She barely manages to block his follow-up punch with crossed arms and controls her gravity field quickly enough this time to avoid crashing into the ceiling again. 

Kara answers his punch with a drop-kick that he catches and slings her into the floor, harder, again. The expected follow-up never arrives though, the distinctive whine and thrum of a large-beam energy projection weapon filling her ears for a moment instead.

She shakes her head and sees Maxwell Lord himself standing ten feet away, a weapon that looks like it belongs on a tripod slung under one arm. “Supercunt, this is a surprise,” he says evenly, turning and setting the weapon on a nearby table. “Who’s the guy in black?”

“No idea, but he’s real interested in whatever's in that lab,” she replies tightly.

“Any chance I put him down for good?”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Supercunt says with a groan. Sure enough, the figure in black reappears, looking a little worse for the wear, but moving easily enough.

The computer in the lab beeps and she and Lord tense. “Can I use my heat vision?” Kara asks quietly as the thief edges towards the canister.

“Not unless you want to take out a couple city blocks.”

Kara thins her lips. It’s not terribly surprising that whatever is in the canister is some kind of explosive analogue, but it still irks. “Got another blast in that cannon?”

“No, I set it for maximum output. Drained the whole battery. Frankly, everything I’ve been hearing about you, I expected to find him in handcuffs already.”

“Yeah, well, this guy’s above average. How bad would it be if he gets away with the canister?”

“If it loses equilibrium in even a moderately populated part of the city, it’ll take out four percent of the population. How far are your friends in black?”

“How long until the thingamajig’s ready to go?”

Lord flicks his gaze to the monitors behind the thief. “Twenty-five seconds.”

“Too far, then. We have to stop him right here.”

Lord shoots her a look. “You looked well on your way to doing that.”

“Not like your gun did much better,” Kara grouses. From what little she could tell with her super vision, the gun hadn’t actually done anything more than knock the wind out of the thief. “Come on, you’re the genius billionaire, you’ve gotta have something in your back pocket for this.”

“That was the thing in my back pocket. I’m not in the arms business; that was a directed EMP cannon that I repurposed on the fly. A thief was never supposed to get this far.”

“That seems a little foolish. What’s the saying, hope for the best, plan for the worst? Seems like something you’d live by.”

“The whole city is still adjusting to your presence here, including my company. Don’t worry, this will definitely be a learning experience. Fifteen seconds.”

Kara purses her lips. “How much would you mind if I broke your building?”

“Excuse me?”

“My boss hates it when I break stuff, and if I’m gonna stop this guy, I’m gonna have to break stuff.”

“I’d prefer you don’t break my building, but do what you have to, just keep him from getting away,” Lord replies lowly.

“I’ll try, but I’m not sure I can beat him myself. He’s better than me, faster, stronger, better fighter. And I think he, uh, broke something.” There’s a sharp spike of pain in her side that’s not going away and she has to struggle not to pant. She hears the sharp inhale over her comlink, but Alex doesn’t say anything and Kara knows she’s either relaying that information if she’s not on speaker or has muted her to confer with the agents on what to do.

“Really,” Lord mutters, side-eying her.

Kara ignores his gimlet eye. “Guys? Anything?” Her opponent tilts his head suddenly, as if he too were consulting with someone on the other end of a comlink, though she can’t hear anything he might be saying. She narrows her eyes as she realizes that she hasn’t heard him make a sound the entire time they fought, not a grunt of exertion, the speeding beat of his heart or even the faintest whisper of a breath.

_ “Could he be a droid? A robot?” _ Donovan asks when she relays this information.

“I… don’t think so? Or at least not built by humans. His movements are too smooth for a synthetic.” Donovan starts to reply, but she cuts him off when the computer controlling the canister beeps and it rotates out of the lock.

“Supercunt…” Lord says warningly.

She doesn’t give him a verbal reply, simply rushing the thief, pouring every iota of speed into the haymaker she throws at him. He ducks under her attack and strikes with a left-handed jab, connecting with her short ribs, turning the point of pain in her side into something that steals her breath entirely. He doesn’t let up, launching her off her feet with a rising uppercut that he immediately interrupts with a hammerfist to the top of her head.

She lands, hard, again, ears ringing, stars occluding her vision and she tastes blood. When the whiteness fades and the world comes back into focus the thief is back in the lab tucking the canister into an inside pocket of his outfit. Lord is at her side and she sees the thief dashing away. “He’s booking,” she barks as she floats up and busts straight through the wall to their left, upending most of the equipment in the lab as he rushes through the room, charging through the next wall and leaps through the plate glass window beyond, quickly falling out of sight.

“Well, I got good news and bad news,” she reports to Alex and the others, floating above the street looking down. “Good news is he can’t fly, bad news is he jumped out the window and used a Lextech teleporter watch. He’s gone.”

_ “You sure it was Lextech?" _Donovan asks after a long moment.

“Yeah, pretty sure. For one, Lex is the only person I know of with teleportation tech, and two, that shade of purple is pretty distinctive.”

_ “Lex is in jail though,” _ Alex points out. _ “So it can’t be him. Has to be someone who just got their hands on one of his watches.” _

“How sure are you of that? Can you ask for someone double-check that he hasn’t broken out?”

_ “We’ll make a request,” _ Donovan said. _ “But I don’t see how he could be involved. His communications are limited and examined with a fine-tooth comb. And not even he can be in two places at once.” _

“He’s Lex Luthor. If there’s anyone who can be in two places at once, it’s him. He changed the color of the sun. I won’t put anything past him after that.”

_ “We get what you’re saying, but theft is the simpler explanation,” _Alex says.

Kara crosses her arms and frowns down at the spot where the thief had triggered the portal. “Lex is smarter than to just let his stuff fall into some rando’s hands. Nothing happens by chance when he’s involved.”

_ “We get what you’re saying, but you have to admit that Lex can’t be involved every time his tech is.” _

“Agree to disagree. I hear sirens. Want me to stick around to make a statement?”

There was another telltale pause of discussion. _ “Might as well. Let the cops know this is our case.” _

“Okay. I’ll let you know if something happens.” She taps her earwig and flies back into the building.

“I’m seeing a distinct lack of my canister in your hands,” Lord says evenly.

“Yeah, our guy had a Lextech teleporter watch. He’s gone.” She cocks her head, eyes unfocusing for a split second. “NCPD is close. Want to let them in?”

“And have them running amok through my building? I think not.”

“Then as your lab is a crime scene, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me until we’ve secured and cataloged the scene.” Kara doesn’t wait for his consent, grabbing him by the back of his jacket and whooshed out through the hole the thief made. He gives her an angry look when she sets down outside the main doors, though doesn’t act on it.

A quad of NCPD black-and-whites roll up about fifteen seconds later, the unis unholstering their weapons as they pile out of their cruisers. Kara holds her hands up and smiles. “Hey guys, thanks for the quick response, but we have the situation under control.”

The cops all hesitate, gun muzzles drifting downwards until one of the older cops, a forty-something man with close-shorn hair named Pullman according to his nameplate steps forward.

“No offense, Supercunt, but we gotta investigate and lock down the scene, you understand.”

“Not without my permission, you don’t,” Maxwell says, stepping forward and jutting his chin out. “This is my property and I am denying you access.”

“Sir, you can’t do that. A crime has been committed, so we have to enter and investigate, Mr. Lord.”

“And it will, just not by you, no offense. The FBI is on the way and they’ll take jurisdiction.”

“I gotta call my watch commander," Pullman says, "but if Mr. Lord is refusing us entry-”

“I am,” Lord says.

“And if the FBI’s on the way to claim the scene,” he continues as if Lord hadn’t said anything, “then I have a feeling he’ll be okay with us waiting out here. Just gimme a moment.”

Kara nods, folding her arms and listening for Alex’s approaching heartbeat. She’s only two blocks away, so she’s pulling up by the time Pullman’s looking for a higher-up to pass his radio off to.

Kara nods in his direction when Alex steps out of her murdered-out, anonymized Suburban. She listens with half an ear as Alex takes the radio and talks to whoever’s on the other side, quickly followed by the departure of the NCPD officers.

“Agent Danvers, FBI,” her sister introduces herself, flashing her badge in Lord’s face.

“I want to lay down some ground rules-”

“No, that’s not how this works,” Alex interrupts. “What we’re gonna do is go up to whatever floor the thief stole, you’re gonna tell us what he stole and we’re gonna collect the evidence we need to catch this guy.” Alex turns to the front doors without waiting for Lord to reply, much to his disgruntlement, if his expression is any indicator.

“Hold on, I didn’t even give you permission-” Lord starts to protest, rushing around to hold out a hand to Alex’s chest.

Alex takes that about as well as she takes anyone touching her without permission while in uniform, which was to say not well. She grabs his thumb, twists, and shoves him away. “And I didn’t give you permission to touch me. Your company is the fourth tech firm in the city that’s been robbed, Mr. Lord, and that means you’re going to allow us unfettered access to your building and data so that we can catch whoever’s been knocking tech companies over.”

Lord evens his expression but his body language remains as belligerent as ever. “I am not letting some government stooge who doesn’t know the difference between a fermion and a boson go rifling through ten billion dollars of proprietary IP in the hopes of stumbling over something you don’t even know you’re looking for.”

“A fermion is a matter particle and a boson is a force particle,” Alex says, entering the lobby, the two dozen other ‘FBI’ agents falling in behind her, most carrying black equipment cases. “The Standard Model recognizes twenty-four types of fermions and six types of bosons. Still think I’m some knuckle-dragging Neanderthal who doesn’t know what she’s looking for?”

That shut Lord up for a moment, stumbling to a halt before hurrying to catch up. “So you know a bit about elemental particles. That doesn’t mean I can trust you around my data or my tech.”

Alex punches the button for the elevator and turns to face the billionaire. “Listen, Max, I don’t know if you have a problem with me or my agency, but we’re not here to screw with you, we’re here to help you.”

Max scoffs, stepping in front of the elevator doors. “Nine scariest words in the world are ‘I’m with the government and I’m here to help.’ I’m sure you mean well, Agent, but I learned a long time ago to never trust the government-”

“Let me stop you right there, Mr. Lord. I don’t care what kind of history you have with the government, I don’t care how little you trust me or the FBI, but somebody is building something bad and seeing as you’re the most recent victim of our perp’s crime spree, we are going to investigate, we are going to do that regardless of your feelings on the matter, so what you need to decide right now is am I going to have to arrest you for obstructing a federal investigation or are you going to cooperate?”

Kara can’t resist a smirk as she watches her sister shut Lord down, the angry-neutral expression sloughing to something decidedly more sour. The elevator whooshes open and Alex gives him a pointed look. He steps aside and allows her to enter the car, followed by four agents. “Take Wilson and Navarro and get them copies of the security feeds and any other evidentiary data. When you’re done with that, you can come tell us what exactly was stolen.”

Kara follows Alex into the elevator and presses the button for the thirty-fifth floor. “So what can you tell us?” Alex asks as the elevator rises.

“Not much more than I did over comms. Humanoid, but not a human-manufactured synthetic. Wore some kind ultra-dark outfit, black enough that I had trouble tracking his limbs when held against his torso. Um. Faster than human, stronger than human, tougher than human, but I couldn’t hear it breathing or a heartbeat. It touched its head at one point, looked like it was communicating with someone else, but I couldn’t hear anything it said. It was trained too. I tried, but it was a better fighter than me.” Kara shakes her head. “The thing hit like a freaking truck. Rung my bell pretty good.”

One of the agents in the elevator with them gives her a sidelong look, surprised. Her training sessions with Whoopass weren't taped or broadcast for entertainment, but she often had a bit of an audience, agents either coming on or off their rotation or simply having a bit of extra time to waste. 

She was by no means a master martial artist yet, but she absorbed her lessons like a sponge and was already equal to all but the most skilled of the DEO's tactical agents. So to hear that she had been outfought was mildly concerning.

"Okay. We got a lot of what he or it or whatever isn't. Can you tell me anything it is?"

Kara shakes her head. "Like I said, I couldn't sense anything about him. Even just looking at him messed with my depth perception 'cause whatever he was wearing was like, super black. Like I was looking through him black. It was weird."

"That has to have something to do with all the fried surveillance. That's the only thing that makes sense."

The elevator door dinged open and Kara leads them to the lab. Alex moves to examine the center of their fight, away from the machines as the other agents started going through the crime scene.

“I hope at least some of this is him,” Alex says as she assesses the damage.

“Some is,” Kara says, trying not to sound too petulant. “The guy was good, okay?” She'd just advanced to the third stage of her martial arts training and it irked to see how little it mattered.

“Anything, guys?” Alex asks the CSIs.

Two of the men had pulled some kind of handheld scanner from their cases, large, bulky things that cast a thin, rotating line of light. “Nothing yet, ma’am, but we also just started.” He gives her a look and Alex rolls her eyes, barely managing to keep from huffing in annoyance.

“So did the Director ever turn up?” Kara asks.

_ ”Yes I did,” _ Henshaw replies in his distinctive baritone. _ “There was a perimeter breach at one of our segregation sites and I took a team to investigate it. Agent Vasquez has brought me up to speed on the situation. We will discuss your performance during your debrief Supercunt, but for now, we must focus on this theft. Has Mr. Lord been at all forthcoming about what was stolen?” _

“No, sir. He’s been quite adamant of keeping whatever the thief stole to himself.”

“You can tell your boss or whoever’s on the other end of that line that’s because the item’s value is in that nobody knows it exists, and I am not trusting the government with what is north of a billion-dollar secret.” Maxwell Lord strolls out of the elevator, hands folded behind his back, a plastic smile pasted on his face. “In fact, I will be talking to my lawyers to ensure that whatever evidence you collect is properly secured and classified.”

“Did you get that, sir?” Alex asks.

_ “I did. You can tell Mr. Lord that we will treat any and all evidence collected with all due consideration. And before he asks, any data we obtain will be returned in due course.” _

Alex passes the message on which seems to mollify Lord, though his expression remains surly. He tries to advance into the destruction of the lab, but Kara zips in front of him, blocking his way. “We’re bending the rules as it is letting you on the floor. We can’t allow you to interfere with evidence collection.”

“This is-”

“A crime scene, for the last time,” Alex interrupts. “You may watch to assure yourself that we’re not doing anything untoward, but nothing else. So you can stay right there and watch, or wait for us to finish outside.”

Lord’s expression sours for a moment, evens back out, then sours again. “I will be holding you to that. And if I find anything missing that should not be, I assure you, you will be hearing from my lawyers.”

“We’d expect nothing less,” Alex answers in turn.

Unfortunately, the CSIs draw a big, fat goose egg on their evidence collection, the thief having left zero trace evidence. After almost an hour, they find no fingerprints, hairs, skin cells, or anything that might lead to a hint of whoever or whatever was behind the robbery.

Alex hands Lord her card as the CSI finish packing up. "If you hear anything or think of anything that could assist in our investigation, I expect you to call," the redhead informs him.

Lord considers the card in his hand before he nods. "I hope you understand I'm not trying to be arbitrarily difficult, but I have a responsibility to my company and my shareholders to protect my physical and intellectual property."

"At this point, that would include telling us what it was that was stolen, but since you're not going to do that, I'll settle for you taking my card."

Lord makes a show of tucking it away in his breast pocket. "You'll be my first call if anything comes up," he assures her.

* * *

Unnoticed by all, a bare-faced figure in black considers the scene two hundred feet below before flying off.


End file.
